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Robot assistant gives surgeons a cutting look

17 September 2008

The surgeon’s eyes dart to the left, and instantly a robotic laser shifts position and gets to work on a new section of tissue. No, this is not telekinesis, but a new eye-tracking technology that could soon be giving surgeons a hand during tricky procedures.

The device has been integrated into a da Vinci surgical robot – a tool that allows surgeons to perform keyhole procedures by mimicking their hand movements. However, according to a team from the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery at Imperial College London, surgeons often need more than two hands when it comes to positioning additional…

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