From the ArcaMax Publishing, Science & Technology Newsletter:
http://www.arcamax.com/news/technology/s-183806-805128
CALGARY, Alberta (UPI) -- Canadian scientists say surgery is about to
change with the introduction of the world's first image-guided
surgical robot system.
The robot, developed at the University of Calgary, is designed to
revolutionize neurosurgery and other branches of operative medicine by
liberating them from the constraints of the human hand.
The new robot is the creation of neurosurgeon Dr. Garnette Sutherland
and colleagues who said they have designed a machine "that represents
a milestone in medical technology."
"Many of our microsurgical techniques evolved in the 1960s, and have
pushed surgeons to the limits of their precision, accuracy, dexterity
and stamina," said Sutherland, a professor of neurosurgery. "NeuroArm
dramatically enhances the spatial resolution at which surgeons
operate, and shifts surgery from the organ toward the cell level."
Designed to be controlled by a surgeon from a computer work station,
NeuroArm operates in conjunction with real-time magnetic resonance
imaging, providing surgeons with what's said to be unprecedented
detail and control, enabling them to manipulate tools at a microscopic
scale.
Advanced surgical testing of NeuroArm is currently under way.