After two hours of intense spinal surgery led by Shen Yonghui at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, the first spinal surgery operated by a robot was successfully completed in Guangzhou.

The surgical robot, nicknamed Dr. Ou, is designed to relieve the intensity of surgeons for safety concerns and increase the precision of orthopedic operations.

Surgeons operate the robot to insert needles. [Photo/Xinhua]

According to Shen, spine surgeries with screw-setting requires solutions to three challenges - the limitation of visual field, the low precision and instability of manual operation, and the disparity of surgeons' skills.

To solve the problems, Dr. Ou can not only plan screw paths, but also insert needles in spines. The navigation system enables it to pinpoint the location and puncture positioning needles automatically and accurately, which narrows down the error between the planned location and punctured needle within a one-millimeter distance.

Meanwhile, this is also the first surgical robot at home and abroad to perform real-time monitoring and protect patients' nerves and veins during surgery.

Up until now, surgical robots in orthopedics department at Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital have assisted with seven surgeries, including one for a 65-year old patient.

With the aid of Dr. Ou, the operation was cut short to one hour and the X-Ray exposure was reduced by a whopping 80 percent.