Vicomtech participates in AUTOPILOT, the project that develops a robotic platform with autonomous capabilities for minimally invasive surgery through digital technologies

Minimally invasive surgery (MIS) uses techniques that reduce or eliminate incisions in the patient's body. MIS has been replacing traditional open surgery due to its benefits, such as less blood loss and shorter hospital stays. However, it presents certain challenges, such as a reduced field of vision, lack of tactile sensation, greater difficulty in hand-eye coordination, and more complex learning for surgeons.

Currently, there are no robotic platforms on the market for laparoscopic MIS that allow surgeons to design personalized surgical plans preoperatively using formative environments in the metaverse, nor that improve surgical processes through the automation of surgical tasks with Artificial Intelligence.

In this context, AUTOPILOT was born, the Pre-commercial Public Procurement initiative promoted by the Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Center through the Education, Science and Vocational Training Department of the Regional Government of Extremadura. This initiative is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) within the framework of the Pluriregional Operational Program for Spain 2021-2027 and the Center for Technological Development and Innovation -CDTI with 10 million euros (VAT excluded).

Automated Surgery (AUTOPILOT) seeks to develop innovative solutions in the field of task and process automation in surgical robotic systems. The main aim of the project is the development of a surgical robotic platform for laparoscopic MIS through innovation in several fields such as surgical video analysis, the development of specialized actuators, digital twins and automatic control algorithms, as well as training environments specifically designed to enable the platform to perform surgical tasks autonomously. The project duration is 42 months.

It should be noted that the validation of the project will be carried out in Extremadura, in the facilities of the Jesús Usón Minimally Invasive Surgery Center, the main promoters of the initiative.

The AUTOPILOT AUTOMATIC SURGERY joint venture is made up of two Technology Centers, Tekniker and Vicomtech, together with two companies, Cyber Surgery and Medical Simulator.

Vicomtech, in addition to acting as leader of the consortium, will be in charge of developing laparoscopic video processing technologies, the development of a digital surgical twin and will contribute to the development of AI-based algorithms that will help the robotic platform gain autonomy.

With this new initiative, Vicomtech remarks once again its commitment to the transformation process of the healthcare sector and the improvement of patients' quality of life through the center's expertise in leading edge technologies.