Snakelike Robots for Heart Surgery

April 4, 2008 | Source: Technology Review

CardioArm, a snakelike surgical robot from Carnegie Mellon University, could let a surgeon performing a critical heart operation make just one incision.

(Amir Degani)

(Amir Degani)

The curved robot has a series of joints that automatically adjust to follow the course plotted by the robot’s head, operated using a computer and joystick. This provides greater precision than a flexible endoscope can offer.

The smallest version of the device is 300 millimeters long and has a diameter of 12 millimeters. Eventually, the CMU researchers hope to make a snake small enough to enter the bloodstream through a blood vessel.