Argentine surgeons have conducted the world's first remote surgical procedure taught by a U.S. surgeon more than 5,400 miles away using a robot.
With the help of the RP-7 Remote Presence Robot, Dr. Alex Gandsas, an associate professor of surgery at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, guided surgeons in Argentina through a laparoscopic gastric sleeve procedure for the treatment of morbid obesity.
The surgery followed a three-month training program, during which Gandsas educated Drs. Sergio Cantarelli and Gabriel Egidi in Bahia Blanca, Argentina, entirely through the robot. Without ever having met in person, the Argentine doctors learned the procedure by remotely participating in surgeries performed in the United States.
The RP-7 Remote Presence Robot, produced by InTouch Health Technologies Inc. of Santa Barbara, Calif., enables a medical specialist to mentor a physician or surgeon at a remote site using a high speed Internet connection.
The 5-foot-5 robot employs two-way cameras, microphones and other wireless technology including joystick-controlled mobility around the operating room, the company said.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
Related stories:
With Mini in vivo Robots, Anyone Can do Surgery
By attaching a millimeter-sized camera robot to a tether, scientists have designed a way to allow individuals with non-medical backgrounds to perform minimally invasive surgery in almost any location. Unlike room-size and expensive surgical robots, mini
in vivo robots are inexpensive and mobile enough to support emergency surgeries almost anywhere, from the battlefield to outer space.
Robotics, laser and wireless technologies make driving safer for wheelchair users
Engineers at Lehigh and Carnegie Mellon universities, working with a Philadelphia-based start-up, have integrated robotics, laser and wireless technologies into a new system that promises to make it safer and cheaper for wheelchair users to drive a car.
Robot may perform breast exam
Researchers have built a robotic breast-examining hand that combines ultrasound with an artificial sense of touch, NewScientist reported.
'Trauma Pod' Robot to Save Soldiers' Lives on the Battlefield
Imagine an automated medical treatment system that does not require onsite medical personnel on the front lines of battle, and is ready to receive, assess, and stabilize wounded soldiers during the critical hours following injury. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Defense Sciences Office (DSO) has taken a significant step toward that goal by awarding an SRI International-led multi-organization team a $12 million, two-year contract to develop such a revolutionary system. The groundbreaking program is an important step toward ensuring a future generation of battlefield-based unmanned medical treatment systems, or "trauma pods," to stabilize injured soldiers within minutes after a battlefield trauma and administer life-saving medical and surgical care prior to evacuation and during transport.
Urologists report success using robot-assisted surgery for urinary abnormality
Ashok Hemal, M.D., a urologic surgeon from Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center, and colleagues have reported success using robot-assisted laparoscopic surgery to repair abnormal openings between the bladder and vagina known as fistulas. Reporting on their experience with seven patients, Hemal and colleagues have the world's largest known success with the procedure.
Military use of robots increases
War casualties are typically kept behind tightly closed doors, but one company keeps the mangled pieces of its first casualty on display. This is no ordinary soldier, though—it is Packbot from iRobot Corporation.
For Toy-Like NASA Robots in Arctic, Ice Research Is Child's Play
Several snowmobiles navigated speedily over arctic ice and snow in Alaska's outback in late June. This scene might seem ordinary except that the recently unveiled snowmobiles are unmanned, autonomous, toy-size robots called SnoMotes – the first prototype network of their kind envisioned to rove treacherous areas of the Arctic and Antarctic capturing more accurate measurements that will help scientists better understand what is causing the well-documented melting of ice in those regions.
Computer scientist turns his face into a remote control
New work at nexus of facial expression recognition research and automated tutoring
A computer science Ph.D. student can turn his face into a remote control that speeds and slows video playback. The proof-of-concept demonstration is part of a larger project to use automated facial expression recognition to make robots more effective teachers.