[WATCH] New robot at Mater Dei set to assist surgeons in operations

New robots to help surgeons carryout operations

A new robot has been installed at Mater Dei Hospital which will be helping surgeons carry out operations on patients.

The €4 million investment will see robots assist surgeons in performing precise key-hole surgery.

The machine also provides physicians with 3D imagery of the operation, allowing for more delicate procedures to be undertaken.

Neurologist Gerald Busuttil said that the technology will also relieve pressure off surgeons, preventing them from tiring out and helping to extend their concentration.

The robot will moreover further minimise blood loss during surgery and should shorten patients’ hospital stays.

In the coming days, the robot will be used to perform a prostatectomy. It will subsequently started being used on around 35 patients a year who travel abroad to undergo prostate related surgery.

The robots will then eventually be utilised to perform operations on the liver, and for gynaecology-related and ENT (ears, nose and throat) procedures.

The Mater Dei robot will be the 890th such model introduced in Europe, with Health Minister Chris Fearne underscoring that of the 10,000 hospitals on the continent, only 500 have to date introduced the machine.

“While the technology will not be trialled here in Malta, it still remains amongst the most cutting-edge pieces of equipment one can find in Europe’s health centres,” Fearne said.

Fearne noted, however, that despite the robot facilitating the surgeons’ work, their expertise will still be required to carry out procedures.

“We still want to keep on enjoying the excellent reputation our doctors and surgeons have among the European medical community,” Fearne said.

The Deputy Prime Minister also pointed outt hat this will not be the first-time modern machinery and Artificial Intelligence have been introduced at Mater Dei.

Previous applications of AI at the hospital include a medicine robot, which helps doctors and nurses prescribe the right medicine, the right dosage, and potentially eliminate all human error that could result in intoxication from dangerous chemical combination.