Pharmaceutical & medical
THE MECHANICS OF MODERN SURGERY
HOW CUSTOM GEARBOXES POWER NEXT-GENERATION SURGICAL ROBOTS
In April 2025, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) approved the use of robotic surgery systems for eleven procedures, including soft tissue surgery, at specialist NHS centres. This milestone highlights the growing sophistication of these technologies. But as they advance, increased demands are placed on the motion components that power them. Here, Dave Walsha, sales director at precision gearbox
D
manufacturer Electro Mechanical Systems (EMS), explains why custom gearboxes are essential in powering next-generation surgical robots.
eveloped in 1991 at Imperial College London, Probot is one of the earliest surgical robotic systems. Probot was designed to autonomously perform transurethral prostate resection, a
procedure traditionally performed with endoscopic tools. Despite its remarkable achievement, it still had clear limitations. Probot was bulky, required manual positioning and its new autonomous capabilities worried surgeons.
However, it still demonstrated the potential benefit of surgical robots. Since 1991, solutions like the da Vinci robotic surgical system have become a mainstay for performing minimally invasive procedures such as tonsillectomies, hernia repairs and kidney stone removals. These tools offer a level of dexterity, stability and control in constrained anatomical spaces, improving surgical accuracy, reducing patient trauma and facilitating faster recovery times.
The use for surgical robots in complex procedures is being explored further. Where once these machines assisted with minor surgeries, today they’re being developed for far more delicate tasks. This includes microsurgery on nerves, tissues and interventions within blood vessels. To enable this next generation of surgery, robotic systems must become smaller, more agile and capable of highly intricate motion. That means the components within must also evolve to meet new demands for precision, scale and reliability.
DRIVING PRECISION
In advanced surgical applications, precision is critical. A fractional misalignment or unintended motion could severely damage tissue or compromise a procedure.
Gearboxes play a crucial role in achieving the precise control required in surgical robots. They translate the high-speed, low-torque rotation of brushless DC motors into slower, torque-optimised motion that can be precisely controlled. Due to their high efficiency, low noise and long service life, brushless DC motors are ideal for medical environments. However, they operate at
52 June 2025 Instrumentation Monthly
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