12-29-2007, 11:21 AM
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i-Snake 'will transform surgery'
Experts are developing a flexible surgical robot, known as the i-Snake, which they say could revolutionise keyhole surgery.
December 29, 2007
It could enable surgeons to do complex procedures previously possible only through more invasive techniques.
A team at Imperial College London has been granted £2.1 million for the work. They envisage using the i-Snake - a long tube housing special motors, sensors and imaging tools - 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.
The Imperial College team, which includes health minister and surgeon Lord Ara Darzi, will test the device initially in the laboratory before it is used on patients.
Minimally invasive surgery has obvious advantages - it can mean smaller scars, reduced hospital stays and shorter recovery times.
Surgeons are also looking at ways to avoid skin incisions altogether. One approach is Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery or Notes. This means operating in the peritoneal space through natural orifices or cavities, such as the bowel.
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Sharon Grant
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