ABSTRACT
The daVinci® surgical system is comprised of three components (Figure 1). The first component is the surgeon console where the surgeon controls the robotic system remotely. A stereoscopic viewer as well as hand and foot controls are housed in this unit. The second component of the daVinci® surgical system is the InSite® vision system which provides three dimensional (3-D) imaging through a 12 mm endoscope. The third component of the daVinci® surgical system is
the patient-side cart with either three or four telerobotic arms and Endowrist® instruments. One of the arms holds the laparoscope while the other two to three arms hold the various laparoscopic surgical instruments such as a bipolar Maryland forceps and round-tip scissors. Although the Endowrist® instruments lack any type of haptic (tactile) feedback, they are unique in that they possess seven degrees of freedom which replicate the full range of motion of the surgeon’s hand. These seven degrees of freedom
tion, 3) opening and closing of instrument, 4) lateral movement at the articulation, 5) vertical movement at the articulation, 6) right movement at each articulation, and 7) left movement at each articulation. As a result of this flexibility, the fulcrum effect seen with conventional laparoscopy is eliminated (Figure 2). Overall, the design and make-up of the daVinci® surgical system have resulted in a paradigm shift for the surgeon who now operates remotely without haptic feedback but gains 3-D visualization with improved instrumentation.
