S. Duke Herrell

Team developing imaging upgrade for robotic surgery

Removing part of a kidney with minimally invasive robotic surgery rather than an entire kidney when operating for smaller tumors is often best for patients from a recovery and health standpoint, but many surgeons hesitate to do so because of the complexity of the robotic partial nephrectomy procedure.

Wrist Robot Vanderbilt

Tiny mechanical wrist gives new dexterity to needlescopic surgery

VIDEO» A Vanderbilt research team has successfully created a mechanical wrist less than 1/16th of an inch thick — small enough to use in needlescopic surgery, the smallest form of minimally invasive surgery.

Telerobotic system designed to treat bladder cancer

An interdisciplinary collaboration of engineers and doctors at Vanderbilt and Columbia Universities has designed a robotic microsurgery system specifically designed to treat bladder cancer, the sixth most common form of cancer in the U.S. and the most expensive to treat.