Robots Are Now Precision Surgical Assistants

Robots doing nip, tuck, snip are not new to the medical industry; therefore one would wonder what the agile MIRO is doing here. Well it’s here coz it’s a light-weight, versatile precision surgical assistant that will probably redefine open surgery as well as minimally invasive surgical procedures like endoscopic heart surgery. MIRO weighs almost 10 kg and has dimensions similar to those of the human arm.

MIRO can assist the surgeon directly at the operating table especially if there is lack of space. According to the designer, the planned scope of applications of this robot arm ranges from guiding a laser unit for the precise separation of bone tissue in orthopedics to setting holes for bone screws, robot-assisted endoscope guidance and on to the multi-robot concept for (endoscopic) minimal invasive surgery.

The key features that distinguish MIRO from the rest are:
– light-weight,
– kinematically redundant,
– fully torque-controlled,
– dexterous robot arm,
– payload-to-weight-ratio far better than today’s industrial robots.

Designer: Tilo Wüsthoff for DLR

Radhika Seth

Radhika Seth is a design and technology writer with over 18 years of experience covering products, innovation, and the ideas shaping design. She serves on the jury of international design competitions, including the iF Design Award, and hosts Yanko Design’s Design Mindset podcast. A former Ogilvy advertising professional, she has also taught Communication and Design Journalism, bringing together her experience across design, storytelling, brands, and media.

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