14 DAY TRIAL // With long-duration space missions knocking on our door, scientists are scrambling to develop methods of caring for astronauts that will spend months to years in space. Engineers with the Virtual Incision Corporation (VIC) and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) are currently developing robots that will one day be able to operate and perform surgery inside the bodies of astronauts.
Though this may seem like the figment of some sci-fi writer's imagination, the technology is as real as it can be, and its developers are getting ready to test it a few months from now. The robot the existing collaboration was able to develop is about the size of a fist, which is too large for practical applications. However, it does represent a valid and valuable proof of concept for the technologies it includes.
The team plans to test their new machine in zero-gravity conditions, so that researchers get the most accurate results of how the robot behaves. Robotic medical attention is an absolute must for any successful long-term space exploration mission, scientists believe. Exposure to microgravity for as little as 6 months is known to cause issues including muscle and bone mass loss.
Therefore, it stands to reason that spending more than one year in space – such as during a manned roundtrip to Mars – would cause even more significant health effects in astronauts. What the VIC/UNL team wants to do is ensure that medical robots are there to address any issue that are fixable mid-flight.
The current design calls for the machine to be introduced in the body through the abdominal cavity, via a small incision in the belly button. Once inside, the robot inflates the cavity with air, creating extra room for its arms to become mobile. Each of these robotic arms is outfitted with a myriad of medical instruments capable of addressing issues including emergencies appendectomies and cauterizations.
The robotic surgeons can also be used to suture wounds or perforate gastric ulcers, among other task. Granted, they are not as efficient as a real-life surgeon, nor can they address many of the problems that can arise at other locations in the human body, IEEE Spectrum reports. It is very important to note here that the robot will not operate autonomously, but through a human operator back on Earth.
The expert will use two Phantom Omni haptic devices to receive feedback from what the robot is doing in the belly of an astronaut hundreds of thousands of miles away. The two control devices are outfitted with a monitor, a foot pedal, and a tactile feedback system. The VIC/UNL group will first test this new capability in a parabolic flight that mimics zero-gravity conditions.