da Vinci® Research Kit

The University of Leeds received the da Vinci® surgical robot as a donation from Intuitive Surgical (https://intuitivesurgical.com/), the worldwide market leader in robotic surgery and manufacturer of the system. The medical robot, worth £1 million, is enabling us and our collaborators to perform advanced research in the field of robotic surgery.
The University of Leeds is the only university in the north of England and outside London to have a da Vinci® Surgical Robot and a da Vinci Research Kit (https://research.intusurg.com/index.php/Main_Page) to be used for technology-oriented research.

Nowadays, robotic laparoscopy is performed without any degree of autonomy in the robot motion. Our vision is an intelligent system, equipped with advanced sensors, able to support the surgeon in very basic or tedious tasks. We aim to reduce the complexity of the operation, enabling as wider spread of the minimally invasive surgery and leading to a much better outcome for patients.

We are developing strategies for shared control of the robot mobility as well as advanced learning techniques, in order to enhance the robot intelligence and allow a close collaboration between the surgeon and its robotic assistant.