PALPABLE partners co-host workshop exploring the role of touch in surgery at Hamlyn Symposium

The recent workshop “From Virtual Palpation to Clinical Integration: Exploring the Role of Touch in Medicine and Surgery,” held at the prestigious Hamlyn Symposium, brought together leading experts and innovators from the PALPABLE consortium and beyond. It showcased the groundbreaking work of academia and industry and their contributions to the future of surgical robotics, with a focus on haptics and palpation, joining forces with the SoftHapSim project consortium.

19 different speakers shared their insights, and five students shared poster pitches. Prof. Roger Kneebone from Imperial College London gave the first presentation, inspiring participants with reflections on The Magic of Touch, relating the importance of touch for surgeons to that of magicians. He shared how touch in surgery is evolving quickly, from the procedural to the robotic fields.

The presentation from Prof. Alberto Arezzo, General Secretary of partner EAES included the key role computer vision has for the characterisation, identification and dissection of tumours, and endoscopic signs for tumour characterisation.

Partner experts Prof. Kaspar Althoefer from Queen Mary University of London and Zhenyu Zhang from Fraunhofer Heinrich-Hertz-Institut shared PALPABLE research on tactile and stiffness sensors for diagnostic palpation and on the tactile sensor based on polymeric waveguides respectively.

Dr. Stella Mavroveli and Dr. Dan Campioni-Norman from Imperial College London spoke about simulation-based assessment of surgical skills, and how digital methods such as remote and automated assessment could address the segmentation of surgical training.

Ilias Zournatzis from partner Bendabl focused on empowering surgeons, enhancing palpation and training in minimally invasive surgery. He highlighted their Boxlap laparoscopic training kit that enables guided training of motor skills and hand-eye coordination.

Dr. Yves Bayon from partner Medtronic examined the clinical translation of palpable tissue devices; the impact of complying with standards and how sustainability can be ensured and ecodesign be implemented.

The other speakers also informed and inspired, adding to the food for thought for both project consortiums to consider in the months to come.

Learn more about the programme and speakers here.