Our consultants are now using the Da Vinci robot at Royal Berkshire NHS Trust Hospital in Reading for some prostatic procedures. 

The surgeon sits at a highly responsive control station with a 3D viewfinder where his hand movements are mirrored in minature by the robot.  The robot has far more degrees of motion than the surgeon's wrists or fingers so that he can manipulate far more accurately.  It can even counteract any trembling in the hands.

The robot, (the da Vinci Surgical System), has four arms. Three of them hold objects that act as tools, such as a scalpel or scissors and other operating instruments, and the fourth arm is for a camera with two lenses that gives the surgeon full stereoscopic vision from the console.

Because the operation can be carried out through smaller incisions, recovery times are expected to be much quicker and the patient's hospital visit should be shorter.

Please click on the links below to access media reports on the Da Vinci robot.

• Robo Doctor to begin operations (Oct 2008)

• Maggie Philbin on Radio Berkshire (Dec 2008) 

• Robotic Surgery is Amazing (July 2009)

• Science Fiction Surgery & BBC Video (July 2009)