Robot created to treat ailing hearts
U.S. scientists have created a robotic device that can be inserted onto a heart using minimally invasive surgery to deliver medical treatment.
Resembling a robotic caterpillar, the device developed by Cameron Riviere and colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University can crawl across the surface of a beating heart, delivering drugs or attaching medical devices.
The 20-millimeter-long robot -- called HeartLander -- has two suckers for feet, each pierced with 20 holes connected to a vacuum line, which holds it onto the outside of the heart. By moving its body segments it can crawl across the heart at up to seven inches per minute. Surgeons keep track of the device using X-ray video or a magnetic tracker, controlling the movements via a joystick.
"HeartLander can reach all parts of the heart's surface," Riviere said. And because it's stationary relative to the heart's surface, there is no need to interfere with the organ's movement.
The researchers are now working on adding a radio-frequency probe to treat arrhythmias by selectively killing malfunctioning heart tissue. They also plan to add a camera.
The research is described in New Scientist magazine.
Copyright 2007 by United Press International
-
From lemons to lemonade: Reaction uses carbon dioxide to make carbon-based semiconductor,
32 comments
-
Thioridazine kills cancer stem cells in human while avoiding toxic side-effects of conventional cancer treatments,
3 comments
-
SpaceX private rocket blasts off for space station (Update),
42 comments
-
Climate scientists say they have solved riddle of rising sea,
31 comments
-
SpaceX capsule has 'new car' smell, astronauts say (Update),
4 comments
-
Potential Breakthrough in Seizure Control
May 26, 2012
-
Popping/Cracked sternum.
May 25, 2012
-
Which Mental Illness Encompasses This Problem?
May 25, 2012
-
A question about drug tolerance
May 23, 2012
-
Poor nutrition leading to overeating?
May 23, 2012
-
Math and dyslexia?
May 21, 2012
- More from Physics Forums - Medical Sciences
More news stories
T cells 'hunt' parasites like animal predators seek prey, study shows
By pairing an intimate knowledge of immune-system function with a deep understanding of statistical physics, a cross-disciplinary team at the University of Pennsylvania has arrived at a surprising finding: T cells use a movement ...
Medicine & Health / Medical research
10 hours ago |
5 / 5 (3) |
0
|
Same gene that stunts infants' growth also makes them grow too big: research
UCLA geneticists have identified the mutation responsible for IMAGe* syndrome, a rare disorder that stunts infants' growth. The twist? The mutation occurs on the same gene that causes Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome, which makes ...
10 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
|
Almost half of new vets seek disability
(AP) -- America's newest veterans are filing for disability benefits at a historic rate, claiming to be the most medically and mentally troubled generation of former troops the nation has ever seen.
8 hours ago |
not rated yet |
0
Color-changing contact lenses to help diabetics (w/ Video)
For the millions of Americans with diabetes, the inconvenient and often painful method of testing blood sugar levels is a way of life. But research and innovative product design by scientists at The University of Akron may ...
May 23, 2012 |
4.4 / 5 (7) |
5
|
Missouri opts for untested drug for executions
(AP) -- The same anesthetic that caused the overdose death of pop star Michael Jackson is now the drug of choice for executions in Missouri, causing a stir among critics who question how the state can guarantee ...
Medicine & Health / Medications
May 24, 2012 |
not rated yet |
5
'Unzipped' carbon nanotubes could help energize fuel cells, batteries
Multi-walled carbon nanotubes riddled with defects and impurities on the outside could replace some of the expensive platinum catalysts used in fuel cells and metal-air batteries, according to scientists at ...
Change in developmental timing was crucial in the evolutionary shift from dinosaurs to birds: study
At first glance, it's hard to see how a common house sparrow and a Tyrannosaurus Rex might have anything in common. After all, one is a bird that weighs less than an ounce, and the other is a dinosaur that ...
Computer model used to pinpoint prime materials for efficient carbon capture
When power plants begin capturing their carbon emissions to reduce greenhouse gases – and to most in the electric power industry, it's a question of when, not if – it will be an expensive undertaking.
Stunning image of smallest possible five-ringed structure
Scientists have created and imaged the smallest possible five-ringed structure – about 100,000 times thinner than a human hair – and you'll probably recognise its shape.
Land and sea species differ in climate change response: study
(Phys.org) -- Marine and terrestrial species will likely differ in their responses to climate warming, new research by Simon Fraser University and Australia’s University of Tasmania has found.
Yale study concludes public apathy over climate change unrelated to science literacy
Are members of the public divided about climate change because they don't understand the science behind it? If Americans knew more basic science and were more proficient in technical reasoning, would public consensus match ...
