Exciting news from the world of medicine

The first robotic transplant operation has been performed in Italy.

Doctors have carried out the world's first robotically-assisted pancreatic transplant on a mother-of-two in Italy.

The team from Pisa Hospital performed the operation on a 43-year-old woman who had suffered from type one diabetes for 19 years and had already had a kidney transplant.

She suffered no complications during the three-hour procedure and left hospital three days ago.

The Italian team said it opened up new possible treatments for diabetes patients because it was far less invasive than traditional surgery.

Lead surgeon Ugo Boggi, said they performed the operation on 27 September and that their patient's body had accepted the new organ.

Mr Boggi said the procedure 'ends a diatribe that lasted for decades on the advisability of transplanting pancreases because of the hugely invasive nature of traditional techniques and the massive incidence of post-op complications'.

Using the Da Vinci SHDI robot, he said, his team had been able to remove the woman's pancreas and insert a new one 'by making just three tiny holes and an incision that was just seven centimetres long'.

. . .

It follows just a month after an American patient had his prostate removed in the first all-robotic surgery.

Medics at Montreal General Hospital used an anesthesia robot, nicknamed McSleepy, to put the patient under. They then employed the DaVinci surgical robot to remotely perform the delicate operation.

There's more at the link.

To go with this good news comes another report that three-dimensional holographic images can now be transmitted in real-time. The technology's in its infancy, but shows real promise.

The invention, called holographic telepresence, is the brainchild of researchers at the University of Arizona College of Optical Sciences.

Dr Nasser Peyghambarian who led the research, said: 'This advance brings us a step closer to the ultimate goal of realistic holographic telepresence with high resolution, full colour, human sized, 3D images that can be sent a video refresh rates from one part of the world to another.

'Holographic telepresence means we can record a three-dimensional image in one location and show it in another location, in real-time, anywhere in the world.'

The prototype uses a 10 inch screen made from a new type of 'photorefractive' material that can refresh a hologram every two seconds.

The image is recorded using an array of normal cameras, each of which views the object from a different point of view.

The information is then encoded onto a fast-pulsed laser beam which interferes with another beam of light, creating an 'interference pattern' which is written into the photorefractive material - creating the three dimensional image.

The hologram fades away naturally after a couple of seconds or minutes, or it can be erased by recording a new 3D image and storing it on the screen.

The prototype refreshes its image every two seconds so movement is jerky and slow. The researchers are working on a 17-inch screen - closer in size to a normal television and say the refresh rate will speed up.

Dr Peyghambarian added: 'Let's say I want to give a presentation in New York. All I need is an array of cameras here in my Tucson office and a fast Internet connection.

'At the other end, in New York, there would be the 3D display using our laser system. Everything is fully automated and controlled by computer.

. . .

'Surgeons at different locations around the world can observe in 3D, in real time, and participate in the surgical procedure,' he said.

Again, more at the link.

These two developments, taken together, are very exciting news. Vast stretches of the planet have little or no access to advanced medicine. If such robotic surgical techniques, allied to three-dimensional holographic imaging, can be distributed to such areas, it means that even the most complex surgeries can be undertaken by doctors at long distance. A surgeon could sit at a terminal in New York and conduct heart bypass surgery on a patient in Africa, or South-East Asia, or even Antarctica, with just as much prospect for success as if the patient were in a First World hospital, with all its advanced facilities. He can view progress in three dimensions, and direct the robots more precisely in their surgery.

This won't only be useful for Third World countries. I can see the military jumping all over this, for deployment to field hospitals; and international aid agencies will be able to use it in disaster relief operations. Those deployed to distant and dangerous posts (e.g. spending the winter at the South Pole for scientific investigations) will, in due course, have access to full medical care, instead of the limited facilities currently available. The technology could even conceivably be deployed to spacecraft in orbit, offering astronauts access to potentially life-saving treatment without having to mount a difficult and potentially dangerous rescue mission from Earth.

This technology will potentially be hugely important for a great many people.

Peter