Students try out advanced robotic systems at Covenant Health

Area students interested in robotics got an unusual real-world opportunity to see how advanced medical robots are used in a local hospital.

Students from Saginaw High School's FIRST Robotics team, along with a group of Essexville FIRST LEGO League students, were invited to Covenant Health to test-drive a daVinci Surgical System robot, similar to those used by surgeons at the hospital to perform minimally invasive surgeries.

"Students were given the opportunity to operate the robot and work through simulation as if they were operating on a patient using all the instruments available," says Kristin Knoll, public relations specialist with Covenant.

Of course, it wasn't a patient they were working on; the students tested the robotic arms on a small, gel-like pad that looked like a tiny, Seussian WhoVille, and included miniature rubber bands and a penny.

With the help of Matt Evo, a representative from daVinci robotics maker Intuitive, and Covenant's Chris Taylor, the students zoomed in to find details on the penny, or to untie knots in the rubber bands.

"All of the students were able to test drive the robot, and many of them picked up on it naturally. As several students said, 'it’s like a video game,'" says Knoll.

The LEGO League students range in age from 9 to 14, and explore real-world science and technology problems, coming up with innovative solutions and working as a team. The high-school team competes to build and program robots, working with professional engineers. So the connection with Covenant was a natural one, showcasing a very real, very local use for the advanced robotics the students explore.

"Robert Espinoza, coach for the Saginaw High Robotics Team takes pride in what the students do and had originally reached out to Covenant in the summer to see how we could partner," says Knoll.

Then, the da Vinci simulator and robot became available, as Intuitive was traveling with a mobile model unit all over the country to test it out. The two robots Covenant owns were actually in use in surgical operating rooms on the same day that the test-drive event was held with the mobile robot.

"It was amazing to see the engagement from the student groups, both high school and elementary. Because these teams are building robots themselves, they understand that the daVinci is a really advanced piece of equipment," Knoll says.

The hospital purchased its first da Vinci robotic system three years ago, and now has 25 surgeons trained to use the system for cardiac, urologic, gynecologic, bariatric and general surgery, among other uses, at the Covenant Center for Advanced Robotic Surgery. This year, the center added a second robot and simulation system that helps teach residents, students and technicians, as well as future robotic surgeons.

"We were very excited to partner with these robotic teams and show them the things they learn in the classroom and in their competitions have real life applications. Who knows, one of those students could make the machine that saves my life one day," says Knoll.

Kim Eggleston is a freelance writer and editor based in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A Northern Michigan University graduate and Marquette native, she also is the managing editor of Marquette Monthly.