robotics
23 3 08

Da Vinci Surgical System gets eye-tracker




researchers from imperial college london are improving the da vinci surgical robot [intuitive surgical, inc.] by installing an eye-tracker, which allows surgeons to control the robot's knife simply by looking at the patient's tissues on a screen.

tracking the eyes can generate a 3d map, which in turn can make moving organs -like a beating heart- appear to stand still for easier operation. other features include 'see-through' tissues on the surgeon's screen [so tumors can be seen underneath tissues] and 'no-cut' zones, places where the robot won't allow the surgeon to cut by mistake.

read more about the improvements.

the above videos are demonstrations of the da vinci system. the fourth video, bottom-right, is a real operation.

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