TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland is continuing at Gölcük Naval Shipyard Command under the leadership of the Ministry of National Defence and the Türkiye Technology Team. As part of the festival, the first prototype work for remote robotic surgery applications was carried out aboard TCG Anadolu.
The robotic surgery system aboard the ship was synchronized with the system at Kocaeli University. The procedure was conducted on a natural organ model using the tele-mentoring method.
First prototype for robotic surgery
Kocaeli MP and former rector of Kocaeli University Prof. Dr. Saadettin Hülagü said that TCG Anadolu's low vibration levels and its ability to use 5G technology had created a suitable setting for robotic surgery at sea.
Hülagü said the aim was to enable personnel serving in remote areas to receive surgical intervention, when necessary, with the support of specialists in the homeland. He said the first prototype application had been carried out that day.
Hülagü also said the localization rate in the defence industry had risen above 80-85 percent, describing this as a source of pride. He thanked President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu and Baykar Chairman Selçuk Bayraktar for their contributions to the work.
From teleconsultation to remote surgery
The project is planned to move to remote robotic surgery after teleconsultation, tele-mentoring, tele-proctoring and experimental robotic surgery. Cantürk of Kocaeli University said the hospital team guided the surgeon aboard the ship during the procedure.
Cantürk said many surgical procedures, including gallbladder, appendectomy and obstetric and gynecological operations, could be performed using this method. He said 5G technology could reduce latency to below 200 milliseconds and noted that the movements of surgical instruments had to be synchronized simultaneously at both locations.
The maritime application required reducing the vibration and acceleration caused by the ship's engines and waves. The technology used aboard TCG Anadolu minimizes this vibration, and the application will be carried out through an online 5G connection instead of a cable.
TCG Anadolu's medical capacity
TCG Anadolu commander Naval Staff Colonel Nadir Kılınç said the ship had a 32-bed patient unit and an 8-bed intensive care unit. The ship also has an advanced burn treatment unit, two operating rooms, a dental treatment unit, imaging facilities, a blood bank and a laboratory.
Kılınç said a robotic surgery application had been performed on a natural organ model aboard the Role 2-capable ship through a connection with Kocaeli University. He said the work laid the foundation for carrying out surgical procedures needed aboard TCG Anadolu in the future, hundreds of miles from the homeland.
Prof. Dr. Önder Kara of Kocaeli University said the first step of the 1.5-year project had been taken. Kara said the next stage would aim to apply telesurgery first on an animal model and then on a live human model by using two consoles facing each other.
