Snake inspired robot for heart surgery

Heart surgery is often a major, invasive procedure, but this may be coming that an end. Engineers at Carnegie Mellon university are designing a device called the Cardio Arm that slithers like a snake to assist with cardiac surgery. The device is inserted through a small opening in the solar plexus and snakes its way through the chest to the heart. Its 120 joints enable the device to perform complicated maneuvers, and its small camera allows the surgeon to see what he is doing. This device was used successfully in a human patient for the first time last February. In the future this device and devices like it may shorten hospital stays and speed recovery times for heart surgery patients.

This article intrigued me because of the implications of more non-invasive treatments entering mainstream medical practice. Non-invasive procedures have numerous benefits, not limited to reduced cost, reduced risk of infection, reduced trauma, and shorter hospital stays.

http://discovermagazine.com/2010/nov/29-ready-for-heart-surgery-meet-dr-snake-bot