Robotic Ultrasound Helps Identify Tumors During Kidney Cancer Surgery

A robotic ultrasound may be able to help identify tumors during kidney cancer surgery, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital.

Kidney surgeons who perform the ultrasound robotically have direct control over the painstaking procedure instead of having to rely on an assistant for part of the task, which can be difficult and possibly dangerous.

The researchers compared the robotic ultrasound probe to the same procedure using a laparoscopic ultrasound probe that requires an assistant to guide the probe for the surgeon. At the end of the study, the researchers compared both of the two methods to determine which would provide the best results.

Besides giving the surgeon autonomy, the robotic ultrasound probe is more easily manipulated than the laparoscopic probe when measuring the tumor from certain angles," said Craig Rogers, M.D., a urologist at Henry Ford Hospital's Vattikuti Urology Institute and senior author of the study, according to a press release. "This can reduce the need to move the kidney to gain better position.

"While our study showed comparable results from both methods of mapping and measuring kidney cancers, the robotic ultrasound probe enables the precision of a robotic instrument as well as direct surgeon control."

The surgical procedure that the scientists studied was known as robotic partial nephrectomy, or RPN. This entailed the removal of a diseased part of a cancerous kidney by a surgeon-controlled robot instead of the traditional open surgery that is usually performed when the surgery is completed.

Seventy-five consecutive RPN procedures were completed using a laparoscopic ultrasound probe and 75 consecutive RPNs were completed using a robotic ultrasound.

"Both groups had similar tumor characteristics, operating times and other factors, and their outcomes were similar," Rogers said, via the release. "There was no statistically significant difference in measured variables between groups when controlling for tumor size and complexity. So the robotically controlled ultrasound probe performed on-par with traditional ultrasound, but with the added benefit of direct surgeon control and precision."

Researchers found that the patients in both study groups were cancer-free during follow up examinations at a mean of 25.7 months for the laparoscopic group and 10.2 months for the robotic group.

"We helped pioneer both the development and utilization of this robotic ultrasound probe right here at Henry Ford Hospital" Rogers said. "This is another advance in technology to help us with minimally invasive cancer surgery."

More information regarding the study can be found in the Journal of Endourology.