A flexible surgical robot to operate on the heart

Pierre Dupont's team at Boston University is in the process of developing a surgical robot which could be maneuvered in veins whilst also being harder than a catheter. The new technology called a "concentric tube robot" would have the flexibility of a catheter and the stiffness of a needle. The telescopic tubes can easily twist and extend thanks to small electric motors. Everything is remote controlled by the surgeon via a joystick. The objective of this new system is open heart surgery through a vein in the neck. The surgical robot has already been tested successfully on pigs; the next step will be to do it on humans. Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5K9ixaU5CQ via newscientist