Surgical Robot Transformer-Hierarchy, SRT-H , that has performed realistic surgery on its own with 100% accuracy (Juo-Tung Chen/Johns Hopkins University/PA) (PA Media)
A robot developed by Johns Hopkins University researchers has autonomously performed a significant phase of a gallbladder removal on a lifelike patient for the first time.
Named "SRT-H" (Surgical Robot Transformer-Hierarchy), the robot demonstrated the expertise of a skilled human surgeon, achieving 100 per cent accuracy even in unexpected scenarios.
The robot was trained using videos of human surgeons performing the procedure on pig cadavers, and its architecture is similar to that of the artificial intelligence chatbot ChatGPT.
This advancement marks a critical step towards clinically viable autonomous surgical systems that can operate reliably in unpredictable real-world medical environments.
Researchers plan to further train and test the system on a wider range of surgeries, aiming to expand its capabilities for complete autonomous procedures.