Developing technology for surgery in the UK: a multidisciplinary meeting of engineers and surgeons

There is an increasing necessity for surgeons and engineers to work together in order to target future technological developments at clinical need and cost-effectiveness. This is a report of two linked meetings with these objectives, held at the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, London, UK. The two meetings were organized by the same faculty members and held on consecutive days. Delegates included surgeons, academic mechanical engineers, researchers and industrial representatives. The programme was made up of varied presentations by surgeons and engineers as well as open discussion of the topics covered. Delegates were updated on the current state of surgical robotics in the UK in four surgical specialties; urology, neurosurgery, orthopaedics and ENT. This included clinical and experimental evidence, together with discussion of future advances. Minimally invasive surgery, real-time imaging and the development of more compact and cost effective surgical robots were identified as key areas for future research.