Flex - Robot snakes into the body through the mouth for surgery

Not only is the solid robot repairing underwater works, robots, and maintenance robots, but now researchers also create a "human body repair" called Flex. Designed by Professor Howie Choset at the Carnegie Mellon University's robotic institute, Flex has a flexible body like the snake that will get into the body through the mouth, then perform surgery in the throat area. Invasive levels are reduced to the maximum, thereby speeding up the patient's recovery time.

Not only that, it can be used as a laparoscopic robot in other areas of the body, such as abdominal surgery. Although current laparoscopic surgery is considered to be much less invasive than conventional laparotomy. You only need to open a small hole, then put the tubes and wires are inserted into the can be performed surgery through the external screen. However, there is still a limitation that can not flow through the organs in the body in a flexible way. And so the snake robot surgery Flex came into being.

Flex Robot can be applied to many surgeries with different needs.

After anesthesia, the doctor will take the snake into the mouth and use the controller to bring it to the required location. Doctors will use the hand to control the laser, clamp, pick and other tools previously attached to the robot. The development team says Flex can be applied to many surgeries with different needs. For example, it can be used to remove untreated tumors in the traditional way, thereby reducing the rate of use of radiation therapy that leaves many side effects to the patient.

Actually, this is not the first time people have created a solid-shaped robot for surgery. In the past, da Vinci made a similar system, but its price was $ 1.9 to $ 2.3 million, while the price of the Flex was cheaper at $ 0.98 million. capital. It is known that regulators in the US, Europe and Australia have given the green light for the application of Flex robot to the treatment of human disease. According to surgical professor David Goldenberg at the Penn State Cancer Institute, the Flex robot can overcome the shortcomings of the previous straight-line surgical robot, which treats patients with much lower invasive rates.