A robotic arm might replace doctors' hands in future breast exams.
MSU's Department of Surgery and researchers in the College of Engineering are working together to develop a robotic arm that could give women living in remote areas access to breast exams.
The technology is called telemedicine because examinations will occur over long distances, but human doctors will still play a significant role in the exam, said Ranjan Mukherjee, associate professor of mechanical engineering, who is leading the team building the arm.
"It shouldn't sound like robots are doing it alone because that's not what it is," he said. "Humans need to be in the loop, but computers and the Internet make it possible to conduct the examination over long distances."
The robotic technology, which is still in development, could allow a doctor to slip his hand into a glove and control the arm through the Internet. Through sensors, the doctors will be able to feel for any lumps on the breast, electrical and computer engineering Professor Ning Xi said.
"It will be like the doctor using his own hands to do the examination," he said. "They will feel the same thing as if they put their hands on the breast."
The three fingers on the robotic arm will be equipped with tactile sensors to let the doctors see and feel tumors. There are also ultrasound sensors that generate an image of the breast throughout the exam.
"This will help corroborate what is found by the tactile sensors," Mukherjee said.
The doctors can control the arm's force and movement through a haptic device, which has complete freedom of movement in all directions. Haptics is the science of touch sensations.
But there is a long way to go before the robot is put into practice.
Mukherjee said the project is in its second year and that testing on women probably won't occur for another five years.
Because the arm is still in its preliminary stages, there are still a handful of concerns that the team still needs to work out, Mukherjee said. The Internet connection, which also links the doctor and patient through video and audio streams, will cause delays between the doctor's command and the arm's response. The team will also look at safety precautions for the robot, such as limiting its speed and force.
"These are research issues," Xi said. "We have developed new technology to deal with this."
A completely functional arm would allow the team to educate people like human biology and psychology sophomore Nelly Tomas, who didn't like the idea of having a robot arm - even with a doctor at the helm miles away - perform the examination.
"Absolutely not," she said when asked whether she would let a doctor-controlled robot examine her.
Lansing resident Jason Hamblen was a little more accepting of allowing a robot examine him for general medical purposes but said that sort of interaction might be a little awkward.
"It would probably be weird for the first time, but I could probably get used to it if it turned out OK," he said, adding that he thinks the growing presence of robots in the field of medicine is inevitable.
The lack of knowledge is the biggest factor in anxiety toward robots, but knowing the benefits might ease people's nerves, Mukherjee said. He added that robots, like the da Vinci robotic surgical system at Lansing's Sparrow Hospital, are already helping doctors.
"When people become more aware of this, they become more accepting," he said. "It's up to us to educate people."
