*This article is a Japanese translation by Macnica of a blog written by an engineer at DSP Concepts.

Robotic-assisted surgery is one of the biggest medical breakthroughs in decades. These systems give surgeons access to viewpoint control with powerful magnification, allowing them to operate with a level of precision the human hand can't match, and allowing smaller wounds to heal faster. Despite the advanced nature of these procedures, robotic surgery today faces significant challenges with manual positioning of the machine, voice instructions from the surgeon to the nurse, and frequent interruptions that slow the process. But recent comments from a prominent robotic surgeon point the way to a solution: by utilizing some of the same technology already found in millions of smart speakers.

In robotic surgery, the surgeon sits inside a control system that includes a video monitor and ultra-precise handheld controls. The necessary settings and repositioning of the robotic arms and instruments cannot be done by the surgeon, but by a surgical assistant at the operating table. This assistant must frequently move the robotic arms into position and manually reposition them during the operation. He must also frequently adjust and clean the cameras, all based on voice commands emitted by a low-quality microphone and speaker built into the robotic surgery system. However, the surgical assistant is "washed" according to strict sterilization procedures and cannot touch the system's controls. He can only adjust the arms, which are covered by a sterile surgical drape. A separate nurse, who is not "washed", is required to operate the non-sterile parts.

Relying on verbal instructions from the surgeon to other staff can be especially problematic in the operating room. In most operating rooms, there are usually many machines running at once, anesthesia machines are constantly beeping, ventilators and suction machines are whistling, most rooms are also equipped with powerful ventilation systems that create constant background noise, and there are also multiple discussions going on between different staff, and announcements over the overhead speakers are constantly playing. This noise creates frequent distractions and is not conducive to the environment.

"High-quality audio is essential in the operating room because communication is so important," says Dr. Daniel Eun, director of Robotic Surgery at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia and a well-known lecturer and educator in the field. "To avoid misunderstandings, you need to be able to clearly hear what you're saying and what you want."

The complexity of these systems places additional demands on the surgeon: changing parameters or modes on the control system display, consulting imaging studies, reviewing medical records, contacting other departments, and all other tasks outside the actual surgery require the surgeon to leave the control system, even get up and go to another room. When this happens, the surgery has to be paused and then resumed, breaking the surgeon's concentration.

Many of these issues can be solved by adding advanced voice processing capabilities to robotic-assisted surgery systems. For example, DSP Concepts'Alexa-certified TalkTo technology easily and quickly integrates the voice command capabilities found in today's smart speakers, but with enhanced capabilities to pick up commands even in the presence of high levels of interfering noise. TalkTo combines many voice processing capabilities to increase the efficiency of the voice command system. Working with a multi-microphone array, beamforming focuses on the surgeon's voice and rejects sounds coming from other directions. Noise reduction also provides a much clearer and more accurate signal to the voice command system. TalkTo can pick up commands whispered from across the room, even in the presence of noise that would make the command indistinguishable to the human ear.

The addition of these advanced audio capabilities, many of which are already proven in millions of products in consumers' homes today, can make robotic-assisted surgical systems even more efficient, reducing workload and stress for surgeons and nurses and ultimately resulting in more effective and consistent surgical procedures. Recent reductions in the size and cost of digital audio hardware now enable the medical product industry to quickly and affordably deliver better audio quality and more advanced control capabilities to virtually any type of device.

DSP Concepts looks forward to working with pioneers in robotic-assisted surgery to bring the benefits of advanced audio capabilities to medical facilities around the world. Incorporating valuable audio capabilities can be streamlined with Audio Weaver, a low-code, hardware-agnostic product development platform for Audio of Things, which represents a broad range of audio processing technologies that deliver sound and voice capabilities to any device that uses a microphone or speaker.

The processing blocks available in Audio Weaver are called modules and are not limited to microphone signal processing. For example, PlayPack, a set of output functions available from Audio Weaver, provides algorithms designed by DSP Concepts to overcome the limitations of many playback systems to provide the best audio quality and intelligibility. Playpack modules adjust the dynamic range in real time to minimize volume changes and maintain the target sound level without distortion, so even relatively compact speakers built into medical devices can provide amazing sound clarity.

Through these and other of over 550 audio processing modules, Audio Weaver enables product manufacturers to achieve the maximum performance achievable with their hardware through an easy-to-use on-screen GUI.

Incorporating the capability for transmitting high-quality audio signals into the console of a robotic-assisted surgery system could greatly improve the accuracy of voice communication between surgeons and nurses, enabling voice command capabilities that could help reduce complications in such critical environments.