A robot performed autonomous dental implant surgery on a patient for the first time last week.
The hour-long surgery, which took place in Xian, Shaanxi province, China, was performed without intervention from medical staff, who were on hand in case something went wrong.
The robot that performed the surgery was following a set of pre-programmed instructions. Medical staff placed orientation mechanisms in the patient’s mouth prior to the procedure, then stepped back. Due to the nature of the surgery, for which the patient was awake and alert, the robot needed to respond to unexpected movements and recalibrate as it implanted two 3D-printed teeth.
Robots aren’t new in the field–many dentists train on robotic dummies. In the U.S., oral surgeons are adopting robot assistants for dental implant surgery. One system, called Yomi, was recently approved by the FDA.