Submission + - How It Works: The Surgical Snakebot (popsci.com)
malachiorion writes: It sounds like the nightmare of all robotic nightmares: A flexible, snake-inspired bot that slides down your throat to snip and burn through your tissue. From there, thing get even more terrifying. If Medrobotics has its way, some version of its FLEX robot will enter patients' bodies through ... other orifices, traveling to nearly anywhere in the abdominal region with a single incision (far fewer than with other surgical robots).
In fact, the surgical snakebot could be a huge leap (slither) forward for robotic surgery, with less of a learning curve for operators and the eventual prospect of surgery with significantly less physical trauma. The potential mental trauma, of course, is another matter. Here's a quick overview of the FLEX system, which is cruising towards clearance in Europe and the U.S., with diagram included, for Popular Science.
In fact, the surgical snakebot could be a huge leap (slither) forward for robotic surgery, with less of a learning curve for operators and the eventual prospect of surgery with significantly less physical trauma. The potential mental trauma, of course, is another matter. Here's a quick overview of the FLEX system, which is cruising towards clearance in Europe and the U.S., with diagram included, for Popular Science.