The MUSA Robot: An Innovation in the Field of Robotic-Assisted Microsurgery

Microsurgery is considered a highly skilled “art” because it requires extremely specialised skills and precision (Mattos et al., Swiss Med Wkly 146:w14375, 2016). It necessitates years of medical knowledge and experience with complicated, dexterous, and precise manual operations (Mattos et al., Swiss Med Wkly 146:w14375, 2016). However, human limitations such as tremor can be an obstacle when it comes to dexterity and surgical accuracy (van Mulken et al., Life (Basel) 13, 2023). The world of robotics in (micro)surgery is a greatly discussed topic because of its benefits when it comes to tremor filtration, motion scaling, easy access to deep anatomical regions, good ergonomics, and steep learning curves (van Mulken et al., Life (Basel) 13, 2023; Weinzierl et al., JPRAS Open 37:145–154, 2023). Robots have the potential to enhancing surgical skill levels of inexperienced surgeons, extending the effective careers of experienced surgeons, and increasing their efficiency and capacity in providing high-quality medical care (Mattos et al., Swiss Med Wkly 146:w14375, 2016). This chapter presents the MUSA robot (Microsure B.V.) which is the world’s first dedicated robotic platform for microsurgery. Its development, advancement, clinical studies, and future directions focused on supporting microsurgery are being discussed. Moreover, the potential of this dedicated platform for the field of (super)microsurgery such as enriching quality and expanding indications and treatment options are also being pinpointed in this chapter.