Robo-surgeon to perform zero-G surgery

Combining zero gravity with robots performing surgery probably isn't the average person's idea of a fun time, but that's what scientists envisage as the future of the robo-surgery sphere. A NASA C-9 transport aircraft in a 34,000 feet dive towards New Mexico is to be the base for this test, which will compare a prototype robot's ability to cut and stitch with that of a human. Researchers from SRI International and the University of Cincinnati will make the judgment, although it's unclear what exactly the two competitors will be working on. To top things off, the robot surgeon in the sky will be remotely controlled from the ground: to that we can only say, "show offs."

[nate @ Sep 22nd 2007 10:03PM]

it's all fun and games, till somebody loses an eye...

[Chris M @ Sep 22nd 2007 10:09PM]

But it's losing an eye - in ZERO-G.

Bragging rights alone, that's gotta be worth a fortune in cool-points.

Chris

[Tony @ Sep 22nd 2007 10:55PM]

So...what's wrong with having surgery on Earth?

[J L @ Sep 22nd 2007 11:01PM]

"Sir, would you like to have your vasectomy preformed by a robot in a weightless environment?"

"Umm...."

[DickHardknocks @ Sep 22nd 2007 11:03PM]

There are SO MANY THINGS JUST WAITING TO GO WRONG HERE.

#1 It would be better to practice 0G surgery on board a shuttle rather than having a jet fly parabolic trajectories.

#2 You are relying on cut-by-wire radio wave ground to Air communications? What if the signal goes out at the key moment?

#3 Zero G surgery is sure to be the bloodiest event in human history. Star Trek 6 comes to mind.

[skyshard @ Sep 22nd 2007 11:44PM]

hm.

rama II anyone?

[Samsam @ Sep 23rd 2007 12:08AM]

Holy liability batman!

[fitinferno @ Sep 23rd 2007 12:16AM]

Is this really a good idea? We are giving the robots the tools and trainings for their eventual takeover! :-O

And I, for one, welcome our robo-surgeon, human slicing and dicing overlords...

(Yeah, yeah...I know, remotely controlled...but it's just a matter of time...)

[Justin @ Sep 23rd 2007 2:05AM]

I have a question...

Zero-G is obtained by diving at an angl of 45 degrees heading toward earth. Since it's only 35,000 feet, one would think you wouldn't have that much of a time to perform surgery....

[wslcrew @ Sep 23rd 2007 2:06AM]

Isn't it like 5 minutes of zero gravity followed by positive gravity for half an hour in that plane?

[superman dat hoe @ Sep 23rd 2007 2:28AM]

Low-gravity porn, here we come.

[JBruno @ Sep 23rd 2007 3:52AM]

1) Each flight is approx 25 seconds.

2) To DickHardKnocks, do you have any idea how much money it costs to send one pound of mass into orbit? Compare that to a standard airplane flight...

[Trahurn Timblin @ Sep 23rd 2007 3:56AM]

"THE SRI TELEROBOTICS ALLOW THE ROBOT SURGERY TO BE CONTROLLED FROM THOUSANDS OF MILES AWAY. WHEN PERFECTED, THIS SYSTEM WOULD ALLOW PATIENT CARE TO BEGIN THE MINUTE THEY CLOSE THE AMBULANCE DOOR."

-http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9783148-7.html?part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20
(link provided by engadget)

Sorry to break it to you. But it's not for surgery in the air, or in space.

[ZekeSulastin @ Sep 23rd 2007 4:00AM]

Idea: RTFA!

And I quote a quote from the article you cited:

"In remote telesurgery, a surgeon controls a multi-armed robot located at the patient's bedside from a distant location using a telecommunications network," SRI's Thomas Low said. "This has the potential to provide emergency medical and surgical care to astronauts during space flights, soldiers injured in battle and patients living in remote regions on Earth where there are no physicians."

He clearly says it's for use in space. Heck, the VERY FIRST SENTENCE says it's for a 'space cruise.' I hope you follow politics more carefully than this.

[constantnormal @ Sep 23rd 2007 10:51AM]

I think that any contemplated usage aboard the ISS will first have to deal with 90-minute orbits and the communications blackouts as the ISS moves around the globe. Surgery isn't usually the kind of thing that can be paused until the ground-based network reconnects.

[Cap'n Refsmmat @ Sep 23rd 2007 4:59PM]

Err, the ISS is in constant contact with the ground. There's a fleet of satellites they use to contact Mission Control.

[constantnormal @ Sep 23rd 2007 6:09PM]

So when I'm watching NASA TV and they lose signal as they pass out of a certain ground-based receiver's range, what's happening there? Only enough constant bandwidth for command & control, and not TV?

[ak @ Nov 5th 2007 8:55PM]

Perhaps the area in which robots are most commonly applied is prostate cancer surgery . Here, as elsewhere, the question is what matters: man or machine? As of today, there is little question that man is the critical factor in robotic prostate surgery . Will this change with newer robots? We will see. As with any prostate cancer treatment, patients had best first learn which questions to ask. In the case of prostate cancer, it's "who's my surgeon?" and now "who's my gizmo?"