During one sequence, transplant surgeon Oh Nam-ki gave verbal instructions for instruments including a grasper and surgical scissors. One robot identified, picked up and handed the requested instruments to the surgeon before retrieving them when instructed.
The two robots were assigned different roles. One operated as an operating-room nurse, handling and circulating surgical instruments. The second acted as a surgical assistant, including manipulating an endoscope and retracting tissue. The demonstration used goat liver tissue rather than a human patient.
The robots are being developed by the ORchestra consortium, led by Samsung Medical Center and including Rainbow Robotics, Aidin Robotics, Hahaeho, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences and Technology, Seoul National University, the National Cancer Center and Jeonbuk National University Hospital. The project is supported through Korea’s ARPA-H program.
The system is not an autonomous surgical robot. Samsung Medical Center researchers have said the robots do not independently assess a patient’s condition or decide how to operate. Surgeon movements and commands are translated into robot actions, while the research program is also developing capabilities including voice-command recognition and coordinated operating-room workflows.
The project remains at the proof-of-concept and validation stage. Samsung Medical Center plans further performance testing, simulated and preclinical trials, usability evaluations, clinical trials and medical-device approval before commercialization.
