product category: aerospace

Lausanne, Switzerland, September 28, 2007

In collaboration with SRI International and surgeons from the University of Cincinatti, Force Dimension, a world leader in high precision force-feedback interface design for medical applications, successfully conducted the first ever robotic surgery demonstration in a simulated zero-gravity environment.

The extreme environment experiments were performed during four days on September 25 – 28 aboard a NASA C-9 aircraft, which simulated the microgravity of space and variable gravity of military critical care air transport through parabolic flights. During the flight week, four microgravity flights were completed, with each flight consisting of 60 parabolas. The microgravity period lasted approximately 18 to 25 seconds per parabola.

A major component of the experiment was to compare manual surgical tasks conducted by a surgeon with robotic surgery. Both the human surgeon and the robot were tasked with making incisions on a tissue model and finally suturing them. A surgical robot manipulator M7 (SRI) and two omega.7 force feedback interfaces (Force Dimension) were programmed to compensate for errors in movement which occurred in moments of turbulence and transition in gravity. "These experiments also demonstrated the extraordinary capabilities of our latest dual omega.7 devices in extreme environment conditions” said Francois Conti, VP Operations in North America.

While the possible benefits to the space bound are obvious, the research could also prove beneficial to those of us back on planet Earth. Telerobotic capabilities could be useful for remote battlefield surgery, and care during patient evacuation and transport. The technology may also someday allow time-critical procedures requiring specialized skills to be performed in a moving vehicle, reducing the time between injury and treatment for victims of motor vehicle accidents or natural disasters.

> related information
video