Three‐dimensional printing (3DP) has recently gained importance in the medical industry, especially in surgical specialties. It uses different techniques and materials based on patients’ needs, which allows bioprofessionals to design and develop unique pieces using medical imaging provided by computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Therefore, the Department of Biology and Medicine and the Department of Physics and Engineering, at the Bioastronautics and Space Mechatronics Research Group, have managed and supervised an international cooperation study, in order to present a general review of the innovative surgical applications, focused on anatomical systems, such as the nervous and craniofacial system, cardiovascular system, digestive system, genitourinary system, and musculoskeletal system. Finally, the integration with augmented, mixed, virtual reality is analyzed to show the advantages of personalized treatments, taking into account the improvements for preoperative, intraoperative planning, and medical training. Also, this article explores the creation of devices and tools for space surgery to get better outcomes under changing gravity conditions.

Mechatronics and Robotics (MaR) have recently gained importance in product development and manufacturing settings and applications. Therefore, the Center for Space Emerging Technologies (C-SET) has managed an international multi-disciplinary study to present, historically, the first Latin American general review of industrial, collaborative, and mobile robotics, with the support of North American and European researchers and institutions. The methodology is developed by considering literature extracted from Scopus, Web of Science, and Aerospace Research Central and adding reports written by companies and government organizations. This describes the state-of-the-art of MaR until the year 2023 in the 3 Sub-Regions: North America, Central America, and South America, having achieved important results related to the academy, industry, government, and entrepreneurship; thus, the statistics shown in this manuscript are unique. Also, this article explores the potential for further work and advantages described by robotic companies such as ABB, KUKA, and Mecademic and the use of the Robot Operating System (ROS) in order to promote research, development, and innovation. In addition, the integration with industry 4.0 and digital manufacturing, architecture and construction, aerospace, smart agriculture, artificial intelligence, and computational social science (human-robot interaction) is analyzed to show the promising features of these growing tech areas, considering the improvements to increase production, manufacturing, and education in the Region. Finally, regarding the information presented, Latin America is considered an important location for investments to increase production and product development, taking into account the further proposal for the creation of the LATAM Consortium for Advanced Robotics and Mechatronics, which could support and work on roboethics and education/R+D+I law and regulations in the Region. Doi: 10.28991/ESJ-2023-07-04-025 Full Text: PDF

The surgeon needs excellent manual dexterity and precision in order to optimize skills applied in hand-eye coordination and visual-spatial localization. On the other hand, during the surgical procedure the patient requires safety, minimally invasive incisions, shorter hospital stay and effective recovery. Therefore, a research study was conducted from 2016 to 2019 at Universitat Internacional Valenciana, in order to suggest the design of a futurist tele-operated Surgical Robotic System prototype, combining the efficiency of the robots used in microsurgery with the synchronized accuracy of the technology used in aerospace medicine, considered the first of its kind in Latin America. For applications on The Earth, the main objective of this project is to show an alternative to provide mechatronic support in advanced laparoscopic surgical procedures applied for General and Gastrointestinal Surgery. The proposed Medical Robotic Device called "Space Biosurgeon" has 4 robotic arms with 8 degrees of freedom (DOF) that allow performing semi-automated tasks controlled by the surgeon while a robotic axis slides vertically through anatomical planes of the patient. In the design process, the International Standard IEC 80601-2-77 was applied using SolidWorks for computer-aided design and Matlab for simulation, taking into account patient safety, quality and effectiveness for innovation in surgical incision approach and Single Port Surgery. In addition, a Clinical Engineering analysis is developed, showing the interaction between the 4 important factors in the operating room, which are the physician/surgeon, the patient, the robot and the hospital environment. In conclusion, the application for Aerospace Medicine is the early detection of gastrointestinal diseases by coupling an ultrasound transducer. Furthermore, is planned to integrate sensors for vital signs monitoring, and the first small-scale prototype will be implemented in 2022.

Disability is defined as a condition of the human body that limits the execution of a task or activity. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 15% of the world's population suffers from it, recent studies indicate that the growing prevalence are a significant problem and that, consequently, the demand for rehabilitation services is rising considerably. For this reason, different authors propose the use of exoskeletons in rehabilitation therapies as an alternative solution. Thanks to the progress of this kind of technology, it is possible to create robotic systems that help people with disabilities to recover, totally or partially, the original movement of their affected limbs. This Innovative Review Article presents an exhaustive review of the main features of upper-limb exoskeletons such as Degrees of Freedom (DoF), mechanism type, rehabilitation mode, movements allowed, applications and Technology Readiness Level (TRL). Firstly, the study provides a brief description of the biomechanics of the upper limbs of the human body. Next, the material, the rehabilitation modes and the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of each of these devices are analyzed. As a result, it was observed that aluminum and PLA are the most used materials for exoskeletons' manufacturing. In addition, it was noticed that most of these exoskeletons perform passive rehabilitation. Besides, it was identified that the most common applications are the assistance and rehabilitation in the affected limb of patients who have suffered a stroke. Finally, using TLR scale, it was determined that these mechatronic systems are between TRL5 and TRL8.

The Mechatronic Engineer José Cornejo presented in his Undergraduate Thesis at Ricardo Palma University, the design of a surgical system prototype, which has an anthropomorphic robotic arm with 5 degrees of freedom called Biomedik Surgeon, used in simulation to research in the field of Biomedical Engineering, with the purpose of training the surgical skills in medical students using concepts of Medical Robotics, and in this way prepare the future physicians of Peru to offer advanced technology care in Surgery. The term Surgical Engineering was introduced, which is an area that involves the multidisciplinary work among engineers, architects and health professionals in the path of creating technologies to provide high quality care for the surgical patient and to improve the attention processes in Surgical Centers in Peru. The medical description of the Surgical Robotic System was deepened, where criteria of mechanical, electronic, electrical and software control were applied to build a prototype based on international standards of advanced technologies used in the area of surgery. Finally, the training and simulation tests in Minimally Invasive Surgery techniques were performed with the use of a cutting tool. The successful accreditation of the project was granted by the Scientific Society of Medical Students at the Faculty of Human Medicine "Manuel Huamán Guerrero" - Ricardo Palma University.

Surgery in space requires enhancing the user’s skills under the expert physician's remote guidance. Therefore, the Surgical Engineering Society, with Bioastronautics and Space Mechatronics Research Group have worked on a collaborative study from 2020 to 2021, resulting in the proposed project named "SP-LAP" which is a Medical Robot, defined as a Surgical Laparoscopic Simulation Platform integrated with multi-degree-of-freedom (multi-DOF) system. The analysis is focused on the mechanical design, telemedicine assistance, surgical training and human factors, considering aerospace engineering fundamentals. It has been chosen to evaluate the surgical performance and to develop the technical-clinical validation tests at Mars Analog Desert.