Robots May Allow Surgery in Space Small robots designed by University of Nebraska research

Robots May Allow Surgery in Space

Small robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may allow doctors on Earth to help perform. surgery on patients in space.

The tiny, wheeled robots, （51）are about 3 inches tall and as wide as a lipstick case, can be slipped into small incisions(切口)and computer-controlled by surgeons in different locations. Some robots are equipped（52）cameras and lights and can send images back to surgeons and others have surgical tools attached that can be（53）remotely.

“We think this is going to （54）open surgery, ”Dr Dmitry Oleynikov said at a news conference. Oleynikov is a （55）in computer-assisted surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.

Officials hope that NASA will teach（56）to use the robots soon enough so that surgeries could one day be performed in space.

On earth, the surgeons could control the robots themselves（57）other locations. For example, the robots could enable surgeons in other places to （58）on injured soldiers on the front line. Researchers plan tp seek federal regulatory（59）early nest year. Tests on animals have been successful, and tests on humans in England will begin very soon.

The camera-carrying robots can provide（60）of affected areas and the ones with surgical tools will be able to maneuver(操控)inside the body in ways surgeons' hands can't. The views from the camera-carrying robots are （61）than the naked eye, because they（62）back color images that are magnified(放大). Because several robots can be inserted through one incision, they could reduce the amount and （63）of cuts needed for surgery, which would decrease recovery time. This is particularly（64）to those patients who have been debilitated(使虚弱)by long illness.

Eventually, Oleynikov said, the tiny robots may enable surgeons to work without ever（65）their hands in patients' bodies. “That's the goal, ”Oleynikov said. “It's getting easier and easier. We can do even more with these devices. ”

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