For the first time in history, the ability of surgeons to remotely control a surgical robot in space was tested. The tests were conducted on the ISS. Communication with the station occurs with small delays, which gives automation a special role. In the future, surgical robots should be able to perform operations on their own, without relying on operators.
The spaceMIRA portable automated surgical complex was created by the young company Virtual Incision under a contract with NASA. The development is based on the MIRA (Miniaturized In vivo Robotic Assistant) project. This is a development of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln that has grown into a startup. The project is about 20 years old. It was invented for remote operations in terrestrial environments, but found its way into NASA’s space programs in the form of spaceMIRA.
According to the space agency’s plans, robotic systems will someday become an integral part of spacecraft and stations to perform planned or urgent operations autonomously without the participation of live surgeons.
Recently, a prototype of the spaceMIRA surgical complex was delivered to the ISS for testing in microgravity. It was also interesting to evaluate the ability of the automation to compensate for the delay in the signal from the Earth. The spaceMIRA manipulator, which consists of two arms with grippers and a camera for viewing the surgical space, was operated by a surgeon from Virtual Incision’s headquarters on the ISS. The operator successfully cut a dozen rubber bands on a mock-up that simulates working with living tissue.
There is no doubt that robotic surgery will eventually find application on Earth. However, it is of particular interest for space. It would be a shame to fly to Mars and die there from a banal appendicitis, if that happens. We can only wish that the project’s development will proceed as quickly as possible, and it is good that it has been started.
