A randomized controlled trial of human versus robotic and telerobotic access to the kidney as the first step in percutaneous nephrolithotomy

OBJECTIVE: We present results from the first randomized controlled trial of human vs. telerobotic access to the kidney during percutaneous nephrolithotomy. METHODS: To compare (a) human with robotic percutaneous needle access and (b) local robotic with trans-Atlantic robotic percutaneous needle access, we used a validated kidney model into which a needle was inserted 304 times. Half the insertions were performed by a robotic arm and the other …