Nebraska researchers sending medical robot to space
At some point in the next couple of months, Lincoln, Nebraska, will, for a moment, become ground control for NASA.
LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - An experiment placed in a box by researchers at the University of Nebraska will soon travel through the stars at 17,000 mph.
Shane Farritor, an engineering professor at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, has been building and researching small robots for surgery for the past 20 years.
“Since the robots are small, they have the advantage of being used in remote locations,” Farritor said. “The first thing I think of is rural Nebraska, where there are a lot more hospitals than surgeons.”
A surgeon at the University of Nebraska Medical Center provided the medical know-how, and together, they created a start-up called Virtual Incision.
“We’re a special group because we build things and test things, build things and test things,” Farritor said. “That’s really the only way to get smarter around here.”
A surgical robot built by the group is designed to remove sections of the human colon. Because the incision is so small, the patient can recover in days rather than the typical month-long recovery periods with most open surgeries.
While the operation is in the same room with the robot in a simulation, they could be in different hemispheres.
“The exciting part is that the astronauts will flip a switch over and we’ll actually connect to the robot from Earth,” said Rachael Wagner, a PHD student whose thesis is this exact project.
That thesis project, which is about the size of the microwave, will soon head into the stars.
“This will be the first surgical robot to fly into space,” Farritor said.
A surgeon in Lincoln will operate the robot on the International Space Station, pushing the boundaries of what’s possible.
“As humans are going further into space — lunar space station or going to Mars — the health of astronauts will be important,” Wagner said.
At some point in the next couple of months, Lincoln, Nebraska, will, for a moment, be ground control for NASA.
“We’ve been trained on talking on the astronaut communication channels,” Farritor said.
It’s one of those experiments that didn’t even seem feasible a few decades ago.
“We’ve received grants from the Army and NASA,” Farritor said. “They want to do surgeries in far off, crazy places.”
The experiment will involve two surgeries on rubber bands. One is pre-programmed to be run by the computer, while the other will be conducted by a surgeon on the ground in Lincoln.
It’s not yet clear when exactly NASA will send the robot into space, as it largely depends on the weather, but it will be in the coming months.
Copyright 2024 WOWT. All rights reserved.
