Medical-grade plastic surgical device: this polyether ether ketone plate has a thickness of 0.4mm and can be fastened into a circular shape for use in robot-assisted heart surgery. Credit: Osaka Metropolitan University.

A new medical-grade surgical field expansion plate allows surgeons more independence during robot-assisted heart surgery.

Robot-assisted heart surgery usually requires an assistant at the operating table to help the surgeon insert the robot arm through a small incision.

The assistant has to constantly make sure the surgeon has enough room to operate via the robot arm.

For greater independence on the surgeon’s side, an Osaka Metropolitan University-led group has developed a device that can secure the surgical field.

Graduate School of Medicine Professor Toshihiko Shibata and Associate Professor Yosuke Takahashi worked with colleagues and small and medium-sized enterprises to develop the surgical field expansion plate made from a type of plastic used for medical implants and the aerospace industry. They tested the device during actual heart surgery.

When the polyether ether ketone plate is fastened into a circular shape, it expands to a certain size and retains its shape, securing the surgical field. The plate is 0.4mm thick with varying widths and lengths available depending on the requirements of the surgery.

Takahashi said: “This flexible yet rigid medical-grade device is simple to use and reusable.

“This plate is expected to make it possible to perform robot-assisted heart surgery that is not dependent on the skill of the assistant, with further applications expected in fields such as oral surgery and otolaryngology.”

The findings were published in Innovations Technology and Techniques in Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery.