A historical perspective on medical robotics

Research Director, CNRS, TIMC-IMAG laboratory. Initial university training in computer science. Doctorate from the Institut National Polytechnique de Grenoble in 1986 on automatic programming of robots and grasping; HDR obtained in 1993. University lecturer from 1984 to 1988; CNRS researcher since 1988. Since 1990, active in the field of medical robotics: robot-user interaction, robot design, medical imaging; numerous clinical applications (mainly orthopedics, radiotherapy, cardiac surgery, urology...). Head of the Gestes Médico-Chirurgicaux Assistés par Ordinateur team since 1996. Putting medical robotics into historical perspective: The field of "Computer-Assisted Medical and Surgical Procedures" was born almost three decades ago, with the ambition of helping clinicians to plan and then carry out a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure that is as effective and minimally invasive as possible, on the basis of multiple pieces of information - often medical images - and a priori knowledge. In this context, robotics has naturally found its place as a means of guiding the clinician's gesture towards the intended target. Over the past three decades, approaches to medical robotics have evolved both in terms of robot architectures and modes of interaction with the user. In this talk, we will introduce the GMCAO framework, present these major evolutions and illustrate them through systems developed at the TIMC-IMAG laboratory in cooperation with clinical teams and industrial partners.