A Robot Performed Surgery All By Itself
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Almost a quarter of all surgeries in the United States use robots. And every one of those robots’ movements in the operating room is controlled by a surgeon. But that might begin to change. Researchers at Johns Hopkins University have trained a robot to do surgery on its own, and it recently completed a portion of a gallbladder surgery on a pig cadaver. The results were published in the journal Science Robotics.
Medical roboticist Axel Krieger joins Host Ira Flatow to discuss how he was able to train this impressive surgical robot.
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Segment Guests
Axel Krieger
Dr. Axel Krieger is an Associate Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Johns Hopkins University.
Segment Transcript
The transcript is being processed. It will be available 2-3 days after this story’s publication date.
Meet the Producers and Host
About Shoshannah Buxbaum
Shoshannah Buxbaum is a producer for Science Friday. She’s particularly drawn to stories about health, psychology, and the environment. She’s a proud New Jersey native and will happily share her opinions on why the state is deserving of a little more love.
About Ira Flatow
Ira Flatow is the founder and host of Science Friday. His green thumb has revived many an office plant at death’s door.