title: First robotic tracheal intubations in humans using the Kepler intubation system.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Intubation is one of the most important anaesthetic skills. We developed a robotic intubation system (Kepler intubation system, KIS) for oral tracheal intubation.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this pilot study, 12 patients were enrolled after approval of the local Ethics board and written informed consent. The KIS consists of four main components: a ThrustMaster T.Flight Hotas X joystick (Guillemot Inc., New York, NY, USA), a JACO robotic arm (Kinova Rehab, Montreal, QC, Canada), a Pentax AWS video laryngoscope (Ambu A/S, Ballerup, Denmark), and a software control system. The joystick allows simulation of the wrist or arm movements of a human operator. The success rate of intubation and intubation times were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Eleven men and one woman aged 66 yr were included in this study. Intubation was successful in all but one patient using KIS at a total time of [median (inter-quartile range; range)] 93 (87, 109; 76, 153) s; in one patient, fogging of the video laryngoscope prevented intubation using KIS.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We present the first human testing of a robotic intubation system for oral tracheal intubation. The success rate was high at 91%. Future studies are needed to assess the performance and safety of such a system.
authors.affiliation: Department of Anesthesia, McGill University, Montreal General Hospital, 1650 Cedar Avenue, Montreal, Canada. thomas.hemmerling@mcgill.ca
authors.forename: T M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: Hemmerling
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Taddei
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wehbe
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Zaouter
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Cyr
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Morse
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007442:Intubation, Intratracheal / Q000295:instrumentation*; D020704:Laryngoscopes; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012371:Robotics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D014741:Video Recording