Information and Communication Technology Trends in Telesurgery

In 2001 a woman underwent a cholecystectomy in Strasbourg, France. What was new? The surgical team who performed the operation was 14,000 km away, in New York [1]. It was the first case of remote robotic surgery. The operation had no complications and the patient had a decent postoperative follow-up. This epoch-making event was dedicated to Charles Lindbergh, the pioneering American aviator who flew across the Atlantic in 1927. Normally, the surgeon operates with the robot assistance at 2-3 meters from the operatory table and the device, developed for military purpose, reproduces the surgeon's gestures into surgical instruments motion. The battle field has always been a privileged space to boost technical improvements, from the antibiotics to the GPS, particularly in the medical sector. Given the background, it has been assessed that in combative situations 9 severely injured soldiers out of 10 die before reaching a medical facility, the main cause being hemorrhage that could be arrested by a prompt intervention [2]. The will to save them, and protect the other personnel as well, has led to the introduction of the concept of remote surgery, also known as telesurgery.