Robot to be tested for surgical intervention in space

A surgical intervention tool developed by scientists will be tested on the International Space Station.

Long-term goals include objectives that seem to have sprung from science fiction, such as establishing a colony on the Moon and spreading to other planets. One of the steps that must be taken in this process is the ability to maintain healthcare services in space. A new study shows that surgical intervention in space may be possible.

The robotic surgical arm, which will be sent to the International Space Station as part of NASA's 20th Commercial Resupply Mission, will test the ability of doctors to perform remote surgical interventions. The robot, named MIRA (Miniaturized In-vivo Robotic Assistant), could also make surgical interventions possible from different locations on Earth. The tool, developed by the health startup Virtual Incision, performed its first surgery in 2021. Used in a right hemicolectomy surgery in August of that year, the tool will now perform a synthetic tissue cutting experiment to test whether it can be used in space.

In a statement regarding the matter, company CEO John Murphy said, "Working with NASA on the space station will test how MIRA makes surgeries accessible even in the most inaccessible regions." Thanks to the support provided by NASA in 2022, MIRA will cut rubber bands that mimic human tissue and push some metal rings around a cable inside an experimental capsule on the ISS that resembles a microwave oven. Thus, it will be tested whether it can be used in surgeries in space in the future. The robot will be controlled remotely by a real surgeon.

News Source: 12punto