Lasers form an increasingly common tool for precision treatment of pathological conditions on delicate and vital human organs. At the Biomedical Robotics Laboratory we are developing novel robotic systems for accurate laser delivery and control, helping surgeons achieve unprecedented levels of precision and efficiency. One significant example is the CALM surgical system.

CALM redefines the laser microsurgery setup through robotics and intuitive laser control interfaces, bringing enhanced surgical capabilities and unprecedented levels of controllability, precision and safety.

Main characteristics and benefits of CALM include:

• Tablet-based laser control
• Intuitive interface
• Improved precision and controllability
• Enhanced safety
• Ergonomic setup
• Add-on system for available lasers and microscopes
• Negligible impact on surgical workflow

CALM was developed and extensively tested through collaboration with our partner surgeons. It was also validated through ex-vivo trials with 57 expert ENT surgeons during ELS 2016 (the annual meeting of the European Laryngological Society).

Research partners

Clinica Otorinolaringoiatrica, Ospedale San Martino, Università degli Studi di Genova

Related Publications

1. [Patent] Mattos, L., Pane, G., Caldwell, D., “Device for the spherical orientation of an optical element, in particular for directing a light beam, such as a laser beam”, WO2015181771A1, TO2014A000432, May 30, 2014
2. Deshpande, N., Peretti, G., Mora, F., Guastini, L., Lee, J., Barresi, G., Caldwell, D., Mattos, L., “Design and Study of a Next-Generation Computer-Assisted System for Transoral Laser Microsurgery,” OTO-Open, vol. 2, no. 2, https://doi.org/10.1177/2473974X18773327, May 10, 2018
3. Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., Peretti, G., Mora, F., Guastini, L., Cingolani, R., “Microsurgery robots: addressing the needs of high-precision surgical interventions,” Swiss Medical Weekly, http://dx.doi.org/10.4414/smw.2016.14375, October 2016
4. Dagnino, G., Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “A Vision-Based System for Fast and Accurate Laser Scanning in Robot-Assisted Phonomicrosurgery,” International Journal of Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery, http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11548-014-1078-9, vol.10(2), pp. 217-229, February 2015
5. Mattos, L., Deshpande, N., Barresi, G., Guastini, L., Peretti, G., “A Novel Computerized Surgeon–Machine Interface for Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” The Laryngoscope, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/lary.24566, August 2014
6. Mattos, L., Guastini, L., Mora, F., Caldwell, D., Peretti, G., “Robot-Assisted System for Free-Beam Transoral Laser Microsurgery,” XIV Mediterranean Conference on Medical and Biological Engineering and Computing (MEDICON 2016), Paphos, Cyprus, March 2016
7. Deshpande, N., Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “Motorized 2-DOF Spherical Orienting Mechanism for Laser Micromanipulation in Trans-oral Laser Microsurgeries,” Proceedings of The Hamlyn Symposium on Medical Robotics, pp. 25-26, London, UK, ISBN 978-0-9563776-6-1, June 2015
8. Deshpande, N., Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “New Motorized Micromanipulator for Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2015 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2015), Seattle, USA, May 2015
9. Barresi, G., Deshpande, N., Mattos, L., Brogni, A., Guastini, L., Peretti, G., Caldwell, D., “Comparative Usability and Performance Evaluation of Surgeon Interfaces in Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS 2013), https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2013.6696871, Tokyo, Japan, November 2013
10. Deshpande, N., Mattos, L., Barresi, G., Brogni, A., Dagnino, G., Guastini, L., Peretti, G., Caldwell, D., “Imaging based Metrics for Performance Assessment in Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2013 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Automation (ICRA 2013), https://doi.org/10.1109/ICRA.2013.6631269, Karlsruhe, Germany, May 2013
11. Ortiz, J., Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “Smart devices in robot-assisted laser microsurgery: Towards ubiquitous tele-cooperation,” Proceedings of the 2012 IEEE International Conference on Robotics and Biomimetics, ROBIO 2012, December 2012
12. Giallo, J., Mattos, L., Miller, S., Neistedt, Z., Draelos, M., Lee, G., Grant, E., “Design and Validation of a Medical Robotic System for Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” ISCA 25th International Conference on Computer Applications in Industry and engineering, CAINE 2012, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, November 14-16, 2012
13. Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “Safe Teleoperation based on Flexible Intraoperative Planning for Robot-Assisted Laser Microsurgery,” Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2012, August 2012
14. Dagnino, G., Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., “New Software Tools for Enhanced Precision in Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2012 International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2012, August 2012
15. Mattos, L., Dagnino, G., Becattini, G., Dellepiane, M., Caldwell, D., “A virtual scalpel system for computer-assisted laser microsurgery,” Proceedings of the IEEE International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems, IROS 2011, https://doi.org/10.1109/IROS.2011.6094574, September 2011
16. Mattos, L., Dellepiane, M. , Caldwell, D., “Next-Generation Micromanipulator for Computer-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2011, August 2011
17. Dagnino, G., Mattos, L., Becattini, G., Dellepiane, M., Caldwell, D., “Comparative Evaluation of User Interfaces for Robot-Assisted Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 2011 International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2011, August 2011
18. Mattos, L., Caldwell, D., Dellepiane, M., Grant, E., “Design and Control of a Robotic System for Assistive Laser Phonomicrosurgery,” Proceedings of the 32nd Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, EMBC 2010, September 2010