Okayama University Hospital announced that on June 6, it had conducted a clinical trial (first-in-human trial) of a Puncture Robot for CT-guided Interventional Radiology, which was developed by Okayama University and succeeded.

The patient was a woman in her 60s, who needed to undergo a pathological examination for a tumor detected in her left kidney. Okayama University Hospital gained prior approval from the patient for the clinical trial of a needle biopsy using a robot.

On June 13, two doctors of diagnostic radiology who conducted the clinical trial—Professor Susumu Kanazawa, Director of Okayama University Hospital, and Associate Professor Takao Hiraki—and Associate Professor Takayuki Matsuno, Graduate School of Environmental and Life Science, who developed the robot, held a press conference and announced that it was Japan’s first needle biopsy for a pathological examination using a robot. Associate Professor Hiraki said, “There was no radiation exposure to the doctors performing the procedure using this robot. There are many other benefits of using this robot. The robot can reduce the time required for a procedure, radiation exposure to patients and technical skill disparity among doctors. Moreover, if it can be used in telemedicine, regional disparities in terms of access to medical care may be reduced.”