“i-snake” to transform surgery
This is not strictly a genetics related topic but having given my hubbie an iPhone (awesome!) for Christmas, the following article caught my eye. I’ve worked in the health industry for quite somewhile and surgical equipment names have, by and large, been dull as ditch water and lacking any ‘wow’ factor. At last this looks to be changing….
Scientists at Imperial College, London are developing the “i-snake” - a flexible, surgical robot capable of transforming keyhole surgery.
The i-snake (picture courtesy of BBC website)
The i-Snake is a long tube housing special motors, sensors and imaging tools and could be used for heart bypass surgery. But it could also be used to diagnose problems in the gut and bowel by acting as the surgeon’s hands and eyes in hard to reach places inside the body.
Elaine Warburton
I am a Medical Librarian in Kerala, India. I happened to read a write-up on i-snake surgery in a local Malayalam daily ‘Mathrubhumi’ yesterday and that prompted me to search the web to know more about it. I wish the scientists at Imperial College London all success as I feel that if the procedure can be implemented with hundred per cent accuracy, i-snake can revolutionise the whole process of GI and Heart surgery and the surgeons world over would feel happy to learn and implement it the soonest possible.
Nice Post and informative
Hi VKG, thank you for your comment. I am sure we will be learning more about the i-snake – it makes sense!