Turkey tested, for the first time inside a military vessel, a system enabling robotic surgery with remote medical support via 5G technology. The test took place aboard the TCG Anadolu during the TEKNOFEST Mavi Vatan events at the Gölcük Shipyard Command. The trial was not performed on a patient, but was instead an initial application on an organ model, representing a step within a 1.5-year project to develop remote surgery in maritime environments.
The project aims to enable medical teams on land to provide consultation and guidance, eventually leading to the performance of remote robotic operations aboard the vessel in later stages. According to the statements cited in the article, Turkey is preparing to become the first country to perform this type of surgery inside a military vessel with Role 2 medical capability. However, this description relates to the project’s development path and does not mean that a remote human operation has been completed so far.
What did the medical teams test?
The surgical robot aboard the TCG Anadolu was connected to another robot at Kocaeli University Hospital. At the current stage, hospital physicians provided remote guidance to the surgeon aboard the vessel. This is known as tele-mentoring, meaning guidance or the exchange of expertise while the procedure is being performed, rather than fully autonomous remote surgery.
Participants said the project includes successive stages beginning with remote medical consultations, followed by guidance and monitoring during the procedure, then experimental robotic surgery, before moving on to remote operations. Potential applications include gallbladder and appendectomy surgeries, as well as some obstetric and gynecological procedures, according to the statements.
Response time and the maritime challenge
The trial recorded a response time of approximately 135 milliseconds, while it was stated that operations over the 5G network could be performed with latency of less than 200 milliseconds. This means that the movement of the control instrument at the physician’s location is synchronized with the movement of the surgical instrument aboard the vessel with a limited time difference, which is an essential factor in any remote surgical application.
The additional challenge lies in the maritime environment, where vessels are exposed to vibrations and acceleration caused by engine and wave movement. Participants explained that the design of the TCG Anadolu helps reduce these vibrations, providing a more suitable environment for testing the system compared with a conventional military vessel.
Why does this development matter?
The TCG Anadolu has a medical unit with 32 beds, an intensive care unit with 8 beds, an advanced burn treatment unit, two operating rooms, and a dental unit, in addition to imaging systems, a blood bank, and a laboratory. Therefore, land-supported robotic surgery could add a new level to the medical care provided to crew members and soldiers during distant missions.
However, moving from remote guidance to full surgery requires additional testing stages. Professor Dr. Önder Kara of Kocaeli University said that the next step would be to use two connected control units to perform remote surgery on an animal model, followed later by a live human model.