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Pioneering surgery gives man world's first 'bionic' penis
When Edinburgh, Scotland resident Mohammed Abad was six years old, he was involved in a horrific car accident. He was struck by a vehicle and then dragged nearly 600 feet (180 meters), tearing his tallywhacker (and left testicle) clean off. But thanks to advances in modern medicine, and a dedicated team at the University of London, Abad will soon have a bionic penis that puts Steve Austin's junk to shame.
Monkeys may be the first primates to get successful head transplants
Outside of horror and sci-fi flicks, head transplants aren't really viable. What attempts have been made so far usually kill the unfortunate test subjects within a day, and they can't really survive without life support. Researchers at China's Harbin Medical University think they can do better, however. In the wake of hundreds of mouse operations, the scientists are planning to conduct the first primate head transplants where the patient survives on its own for at least a while. The surgery will connect only a fraction of the spinal nerve fibers in the long-tailed macaque monkeys going under the knife, but it should be enough to maintain voluntary muscle movement and other crucial functions.
Telesurgery tests highlight the limits of the Internet
Telesurgery has the potential to bring surgeons in contact with patients anywhere, any time. In a remote robotic-assisted surgery, a doctor would be able to guide a mechanical device at a far away location to perform the procedure. The use of robotics in surgeries has been successful, as long as the operator and the device are in the same OR. But putting distance between the two has been problematic. The whole process relies on a strong network or Internet for connectivity, which invariably results in some amount of latency. Even the slightest lag can have serious implications. With a $4.9 million grant from the U.S. Department of Defense, the Florida Hospital Nicholson Center has completed a series of tests that reveal improvements in bandwidth technology are making telesurgery safer.
Google teams with Johnson & Johnson for robotic-assisted surgery
Google's mysterious facility, Google X, is churning out next level technologies -- a self-driving car, delivery drones and Internet balloons. Its Life Sciences division is now teaming up with Ethicon, one of Johnson & Johnson's medical device companies, to develop robotic-assisted surgeries. "Through this collaboration, we are looking to provide surgeons with a technologically advanced system that would help them make the best, most informed decisions," Gary Pruden, Worldwide Chairman, Global Surgery Group at Johnson & Johnson told Engadget. "The surgeon remains the ultimate decision maker, but they will have even more support with precision movements and data-enhanced decision making tools."
Patient 3D prints his own kidney to guide surgeons
Despite having millions of dollars of imaging technology at their disposal, surgeons often have to wait until they open a patient up before deciding the best course of action. Even for the simplest procedure, knowing the actual size and composition of the affected body part can make all the difference. When British patient John Cousins collapsed in pain from appendicitis and a 3.5cm "stags head" kidney stone, he wanted to provide specialists with as much information on his affected organ as he could, so he decided to 3D-print a replica model of it.
3D-printed mesh gives man with half a skull hope for recovery
People have been patching up their bodies with foreign parts for ages now, but 3D printing has only made that process easier, faster and more emblematic of hope. Case in point: a Chinese farmer named Hu fell three stories in a construction accident, and he has a shot at a normal life again thanks to a 3D-printed titanium mesh that doctors installed where the left side of his skull used to be. The accident left Hu with impaired vision and an inability to speak or write, so surgeons at Xijing Hospital in northwest China took him under the knife for three hours to return his skull cavity to its normal shape. It's too soon to tell if his normal brain function will return, though -- doctors hope his gray matter will slowly start to regenerate now that it has the space to grow. This isn't the first time 3D printed parts have complemented someone's cranium -- doctors in the Netherlands replaced most of a woman's skull with 3D printed plastic after it was discovered that the bone surrounding her brain was slowly growing thicker and threatening her cognitive future.
Boston Children's Hospital preps surgeons with custom 3D-printed models
Undoubtedly, 3D printing has taken root in a variety of disciplines, and medicine is no stranger to leveraging its tool kit. At Boston Children's Hospital, surgeons are using printed models to prep for the operating room. "With 3D printing, we're taking a step that allows experienced doctors to simulate the specific anatomy of their patients and allows the best of the best to become even better," says Peter Weinstock, MD, PhD. Dr. Weinstock is working on an in-house service that's capable of constructing the models in short order. Using scans from the hospital's radiology department and a 3D printer capable of super high-resolution output (16 microns, to be exact), the models allow doctors to examine details of a baby's skull or brain. What's more, the machine can use multiple materials to sculpt the final result, simulating the unique facets of bone, skin and blood vessels individually. For surgeons-in-training, the custom-made prints can illustrate the details of a medical condition rather than an average look.
Boy gets the first 3D-printed vertebra implant
3D-printed implants just got one of their biggest real-world tests to date. Peking University Third Hospital has successfully implanted the first 3D-printed vertebra in a 12-year-old boy with cancer in his spinal cord. The bone substitute is made from titanium powder like many orthopedic implants, but promises to be both safer and longer-lasting than conventional replacements. Since it's designed to mimic the shape of the child's original vertebra, it doesn't need cement or screws to stay in place; healing should go faster, too. The construct is full of small holes that let natural bone grow inside, so it should eventually become a permanent, stable part of the spine that won't need adjustments at some point down the road.
Violinist fiddles with a smart bow to help his brain surgery
It's common for brain surgery patients to stay awake. That's how surgeons know everything is going smoothly, after all. When concert violinist Roger Frisch started suffering from tremors that are only a problem when he's playing, however, Mayo Clinic doctors had to resort to some rather unusual technology to find out if they were installing the necessary brain pacemaker correctly. The surgical crew gave Frisch a bow equipped with a motion-tracking sensor and asked him to fiddle during the operation; the team knew it had electrodes in the right spot when the musician's performance was steady.
Nintendo CEO to miss shareholders meeting following major surgery
Nintendo President and CEO Satoru Iwata underwent surgery last week to remove a bile duct growth, and as a result he will miss the company's upcoming annual shareholders meeting. In a letter published on Nintendo's site, the 54-year-old explained the growth was fortunately detected early and he made it through the procedure successfully. "I was counseled that removal at an early stage would be the desirable medical option," Iwata said. "Therefore I had surgery last week, and I came through it well as predicted." "I have already resumed business by email and other means, but it is anticipated that a little more time is needed for me to return to my regular work schedule."
Human 'suspended animation' trials to start this month
The researchers behind it don't want to call it suspended animation, but it's the most conventional way to explain it. The world's first humans trials will start at the UPMC Presbyterian Hospital in Pittsburgh, with 10 patients whose injuries would otherwise be fatal to operate on. A team of surgeons will remove the patient's blood, replacing it with a chilled saline solution that would cool the body, slowing down bodily functions and delaying death from blood loss. According to Dr. Samuel Tisherman, talking to New Scientist: "We are suspending life, but we don't like to call it suspended animation because it sounds like science fiction... we call it emergency preservation and resuscitation."
Fraunhofer iPad app guides liver surgery through augmented reality
Liver surgery is more than a little dangerous -- with so many blood vessels, one wrong cut can lead to disaster. Fraunhofer MEVIS has just tested a new generation of augmented reality iPad app that could minimize those risks. The tool puts a 3D vessel map on top of live video of a patient, telling the surgeon where it's safe to make incisions. Doctors who do need to cut vessels can predict the level of blood loss and remove affected vessels from the map. The trial was successful enough that Fraunhofer MEVIS sees the new technology applying to surgery elsewhere in the body. If all goes well, there should be fewer accidents during tricky operations of many kinds -- a big relief for those of us going under the knife. [Thanks, Urban]
iPad with augmented reality app assists in liver surgery
Reuters is reporting on a unique liver surgery that took place in Germany, where an iPad running an augmented reality app helped doctors plan and conduct the operation. The app, developed by Fraunhofer MEVIS in Bremen, helps locate structures like tumors and blood vessels and is expected to improve the outcomes in such complicated procedures. "With the new technology, we expect a better implementation of computer-aided surgical planning for tumor removal," said Prof. Karl Oldhafer. "The method has great potential. One can imagine it being used in the operation of other organs such as the pancreas." The liver is filmed using the iPad camera, and then overlaid during an operation with virtual 3D models that were rendered from data in a real organ. You can see some photos from the operation here. Don't try looking during dinner or if you're squeamish. The iPad has become quite popular in the medical field. Doctors I've talked to are really appreciative of the iPad mini, which easily fits in a lab coat. [via 9 to 5 Mac]
Sony unveils 3D head-mounted display for surgeons to peer inside you
Sony's 3D head-mounted displays have been asking for a place in your film-watching and gaming routines since 2011, but now their latest HMD is volunteering to act as the viewing end of medical endoscopes. Hirai and Co. have just unveiled what amounts to a retooled HMZ-T2, dubbed the HMM-3000MT, which helps surgeons peek inside a patient's body in 2D or 3D -- the latter of which is said to improve precision. By eliminating the need to keep tabs on an external screen, the electronics giant thinks doctors won't have to restrict their posture and movement. Though the hardware carries the same 720p 0.7-inch OLED panels as its sibling, it's been tweaked for use in a standing position with beefed up support for balance and comfort. The hardware also packs a picture-in-picture feature to catch different views of operations, and even the ability to rotate and flip video feeds. While the headgear has been approved for use in Japan, it hasn't been confirmed for a launch in other territories. In other words, don't expect to see it if you go under the knife relatively soon.
Bungie's gift to a child who could use cheering up, in pictures
Reddit user fiscal_ reached out on the forums two weeks ago, asking if anyone had contact info for Bungie, the original team behind the Halo series. His young son was a huge Halo fan, but more importantly he was recovering from an intense liver transplant surgery, and fiscal_ wanted to cheer him up with something from his favorite franchise. Bungie delivered.Bungie sent over a full-size replica of Carter's helmet from Halo: Reach for fiscal_'s son to keep, along with a t-shirt and a card signed by Bungie staff wishing him well. "My family can't thank Bungie enough," fiscal_ wrote. "I know that they have had a huge impact on how well my son has been recovering after his surgery."This album of pictures tells the whole, heartwarming story.
Visualized: this motion compensated tool prototype will haunt your dreams
The Biorobotics lab at Harvard has interests extending beyond robot hands. The team is doing some fascinating stuff in the medical field, as well, including the exploration of heart surgery while the heart itself is still beating. They've explored some motion compensating tools, and we just couldn't take our eyes off of this one during our visit -- not exactly the last thing you want to see before they put you under. Part of the reason the device is so large is due to the weighted motion compensating system built in making it look like the sort of tool they'd use if they ever needed to perform open heart surgery during Blade Runner.
Robopsy is a low-cost, disposable patient-mounted medical robot
In a less gelatin-centric demo, the Harvard-based team behind the Robotically Steerable Probe showed off some Robopsy devices during our visit to the school, rings that can help medical imaging technology like CT, ultrasound and MR physically pinpoint precise locations on patients. The devices, which can hold up to ten needles, are lightweight, mounting directly on patients via adhesives or straps. The medical robots are made largely of inexpensive injection molded plastic parts, making them disposable after they've been used on a patient, popping the motors and other control electronics onto another device. In all, the team says Robopsy rings are "orders of magnitude" cheaper and lighter than other medical robotic devices. Check out a video of the one of the Robopsy devices running after the break.%Gallery-161787%
Robotically Steerable Probe aims at minimally invasive surgery, moves through gelatin like a champ
Who doesn't prefer to have the word "surgery" preceded by the phrase "minimally invasive?" During our trip to the Harvard research labs today, we were given a demo of the Robotically Steerable Thermal Ablation Probe, a device designed to help minimize the number of injections required when treating something like a tumor. The machine is guided by a x-ray image onto which a doctor can choose a number of destinations. Rather than being forced to re-inject the patient, the outer cannula moves up and down to locate the position, with a thinner curved stylet extends from within it, reaching the designated area. In order to hit subsequent spots, the stylet retracts back into the cannula, which adjusts its up and down position, extending once again to reach the area. Applications for the technology extend beyond just injection, including the possibility of extracting tissue samples from a patient. You can check out a demo of the device doing its work after the break. But don't worry, it's just gelatine.
Sony unveils first medical-grade OLED monitor, surgery gets rendered in all-too-vivid color
OLED screens are virtually everywhere, and they're steadily getting bigger, but it was tough to find any in hospitals until now. While Sony's 25-inch PVM-2551MD might not have the most glamorous name, it's the first and only OLED monitor with FDA approval for use in surgery. No, it's not just to give the doctor something more pleasing (or disgusting) to look at while she's removing a gallstone -- the organic display can be a genuine help for surgery through the higher contrast, virtually non-existent blur and more faithful color reproduction versus the LCDs it's meant to replace. Us patients likely won't see the now-shipping 2551MD for much longer than it takes to go unconscious, so it might be hard to appreciate; if it helps surgeons finish operations faster and with fewer mistakes, however, we could all reap the rewards.
Regenerative medicine pioneer continues changing lives with first successful laryngotracheal implants
Dr. Paolo Macchiarini is no stranger to world firsts, and less than a year after performing a synthetic windpipe transplant, the Karolinska Institute Professor has coordinated no less than two successful transplants of synthetic sections of larynx. Amazingly, both patients were able to breathe and talk normally straight after surgery, the basic functions we take for granted that they either struggled with or were simply unable to do before. The implants consisted of personally designed synthetic scaffolds coated with the candidates' own stem cells, so there's neither the chance of rejection nor the burden of life-long immunosuppressant therapy. Despite the amazing feat, Dr. Macchiarini ain't done yet, claiming this is the first of many steps towards building a synthetic, complete larynx -- voice box and all. Jump past the break for the official PR issued by Harvard Bioscience, the company responsible for growing what's in that tub.
