Preserving Erectile Function during Robotic Prostate Surgery by Measuring Nerve-Sparing Technique
Official title: Preserving Erectile Function by Quantifying the Nerve-Sparing step of the Robotic Prostatectomy
Funded at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center · NIH-11360678 · Data updated 2026-11-12
Aims to create an objective way to measure how well surgeons perform the nerve-sparing part of robot-assisted prostate cancer surgery to help patients keep erectile function.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Cedars-Sinai Medical Center NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Los Angeles, United States) |
| Project start | July 7, 2022 |
| Project end | June 30, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $749,573 |
| NIH project number | 5R01CA273031-06 |
| Project ID | NIH-11360678 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Men undergoing robot-assisted radical prostatectomy for prostate cancer who could benefit from improved nerve-sparing technique.
✕Less likely to help
Patients not undergoing RARP or whose cancer treatment plan does not involve nerve-sparing considerations may not benefit.
What this research studies
This project uses surgical videos and patient outcomes to quantify how well the nerve-sparing step is performed during robot-assisted radical prostatectomy. It will build expert consensus on the technical factors that support erectile function recovery, develop an automated computer-vision system to assess performance, and test a virtual reality simulator with feedback for skill improvement. The goal is to provide surgeons with concrete, actionable feedback so they can improve patient results after prostate cancer surgery. If successful, the tools could help standardize high-quality nerve-sparing across centers and reduce variation in erectile function recovery.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Patients could experience better preservation of erectile function after prostate cancer surgery through improved surgeon performance and standardized feedback tools.
How similar studies have gone: Previous work shows that surgical performance and outcomes are linked, and automated video analysis is a growing area, but this specific nerve-sparing assessment approach is still being validated.
Where this research is happening
-
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
Los Angeles, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hung, Andrew — Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
- Study coordinator: Hung, Andrew
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.