A small surgical robot on the International Space Station has completed its first surgery demonstration in zero gravity.
Guided by doctors 250 miles below on Earth, the compact droid performed several operations on fake human tissue at the giant space lab in the sky, reported CNN.
The robotic device, known as the SpaceMIRA, has the potential to address urgent medical emergencies in remote locations that surgeons can’t reach, from space to war zones to rural areas. As Nasa and SpaceX missions go deeper into the outer reaches of our galaxy, including human trips to Mars, the robot could tag along for the ride.
Mimicking a human doctor in a hospital operating room, spaceMIRA uses its left arm to grasp and its right arm to cut, while a part of the device is inserted into the body. The robot weighs 0.9 kilograms and is stored inside a microwave-sized case, making it a lightweight tool for astronauts.
The robo-surgeon arrived on the space station aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on February 1 and will stay there until the spring.
SpaceMira is the brainchild of Virtual Incision, a US startup based in Lincoln, Nebraska. The zero-gravity demonstration was conducted on February 10, with the aid of six surgeons.
Each performed remote tests with the robot, providing tension to the simulated tissue made of rubber bands with one hand, and using the other to dissect it. All the tests were deemed successful, Virtual Incision told CNN.
The time delay that comes with controlling the robot from the ground adds an extra layer of difficulty to operations. There is typically an input and output lag between the commands sent by doctors on Earth and the actions performed by the robot remotely. In the case of the demo, the delay was about 0.85 of a second.
Virtual Incision previously said that even half a second lapse could cause problems. But a surgeon who took part in the test said that the tasks were completed despite the delay.
