Tuesday, September 10, 2024

Remote surgery performed on a pig 9,000 km away using a game controller

Amazing stuff! Very impressive!

"Doctors have successfully operated on a pig – from 9,300 km (5,780 miles) away. Using a video game controller, surgeons in Switzerland successfully performed an endoscopy on a pig in Hong Kong, paving the way for remote procedures in humans in areas where local expertise isn’t available. ..."

"... Two operators controlled the procedure: a clinician in the operating room in Hong Kong and a remote expert at an operator console in Zurich, 9,300 kilometres (km) away. This study highlights the capabilities and future potential of this novel technology, facilitating immediate diagnostic and surgical care in remote areas, particularly for specialised procedures where local expertise is not available. Study details have been published in Advanced Intelligent Systems. ...

Post-operative X-ray imaging showed that the endoscope achieved full retroflexion within the model stomach, meaning it was able to perform a U-turn. In this procedure, retroflexion was an important milestone, as large bending angles can pose a challenge for magnetic endoscopes and successful retroflexion proves that magnetic endoscopes can move as freely as standard devices. In addition, stomach wall tissue was biopsied, and the tissue size was found to be suitable for further analysis. ..."

Remote surgery performed on a pig 9,000 km away using a game controller

CUHK and ETH Zurich successfully conduct world’s first in vivo teleoperated magnetic endoscopy using an animal model, over a distance of 9,300 km between Zurich and Hong Kong (original news release)


Dr Shannon Chan, located in Hong Kong, uses a game controller to control an endoscope located in Zurich, Switzerland, over 9,000 km (5,500 miles) away


CU Medicine and the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETH Zurich), Switzerland, have conducted the world’s first in vivo teleoperated magnetic endoscopy using a porcine model, performing a biopsy of the stomach wall.


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