A new invenvtion in the medical history. A team of surgeons in France, assisted in removing the gall bladder of a 68-year old woman using a remote controlled robot. This is termed as the world's first long-distance operation in the medical history. The operation took place at the European Institute for TeleSurgery in Strasbourg.
According to Jacques Marceausx it is a phenomenal step and we cannot even begin to imagine the implications for medicine the surgeon who conducted the operation says.The robotical surgical system, called Zeus, is manufactured by hi-tech medical device provider, Computer Motion, for what it calls the new world of possibilities in minimally invasive surgery (MIS).According to Computer Motion, Zeus will help decrease patient pain and trauma, and shorten convalescent periods.The company says using the Zeus system, surgeons have greater dexterity and precision. The system includes two holding instruments and another containing a laparoscope, or a tiny camera embedded in flexible tube.With Zeus, the surgeon controls the instrument handles and views the operative site on a monitor. With a computer interface, the surgical instruments replicate the surgeon's actions at the operative site in real time, the company says.In addition, the robot responds to verbal commands like ``move up'' or ``move down'' and can warn the medical team if it runs out of surgical tape or other materials.
France Telecom donated a trans-Atlantic communication link that used asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) technology to transmit the data. The operation took less than an hour's time and the patient was discharged from the hospital 48 hours later.
