Robot performs complicated surgery to remove gallbladder, without human help

“A Johns Hopkins–designed robot has learned to autonomously perform gallbladder removal surgery, completing a series of trials on pig tissue with perfect accuracy,” reports The Doomslayer.

Johns Hopkins University explains:

A robot trained on videos of surgeries performed a lengthy phase of a gallbladder removal without human help. The robot operated for the first time on a lifelike patient, and during the operation, responded to and learned from voice commands from the team—like a novice surgeon working with a mentor.

The robot performed unflappably across trials and with the expertise of a skilled human surgeon, even during unexpected scenarios typical in real life medical emergencies….

This advancement moves us from robots that can execute specific surgical tasks to robots that truly understand surgical procedures,” said medical roboticist Axel Krieger. “This is a critical distinction that brings us significantly closer to clinically viable autonomous surgical systems that can work in the messy, unpredictable reality of actual patient care.”

The findings are published today in Science Robotics.

In other news, scientists have invented an injectable goo that can regrow cartilage in the body, making it possible to fix some joints without surgery.

Researchers recently discovered that blocking a protein could extend lifespans. In other news, a drug is being developed that could regrow lost teeth.

Scientists have discovered that certain bacteria that can break down “forever chemicals,” pollutants that stay in the body for many years and can harm the immune system.

Scientists have developed tiny robots made of human cells to repair damaged cells. And Arizona State University scientists “have successfully programmed nanorobots to shrink tumors by cutting off their blood supply,” eliminating cancers.