June 2nd, 2008
Space Shuttle tech works on brain tumors
A robotic surgeon based on military technology has performed its first brain operation in Canada.
The neuroArm was developed as a collaborative effort by the University of Calgary and MacDonald Dettwiler Associates Ltd. (MDA), a Vancouver military contractor whose best known device is Canadarm used on the Space Shuttle.
The device removed a benign brain tumor from Paige Nickason, 21, who suffers from neurofibromatosis, which causes benign tumours to form on nerves. The procedure took about 9 hours.
The promise is that robotic surgeons like the neuroArm can be more accurate than a surgeon’s hands, which is vital in areas like brain surgery. MDA also hopes the spin-off will be profitable.
On a day when brain surgery is in the news it’s nice to know it’s getting better.
Dana Blankenhorn has been a business journalist since 1978, and has covered technology since 1982. He launched the Interactive Age Daily, the first daily coverage of the Internet to launch with a magazine, in September 1994. See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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| 06/02/08
