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Scientists use 3-D ultrasound technology to test a robot’s ability to independently perform surgeries

Duke University engineers think they’ve made an important step towards developing robotic surgeons that operate independently. The robot they used in their experiments—which were just feasibility studies, and were not performed on real people—uses 3-D ultrasound as its eyes, and an AI program that processes the 3-D information it gathers to determine the robot’s next steps.

The robot has successfully performed several simulated procedures—directing catheters inside synthetic blood vessels, carrying out needle biopsies and even removing a fake cyst. A tiny 3-D ultrasound transducer gathers the images, effectively providing the robot’s arm with a map of where it needs to go.

And while the long-term goal is to have some future version of their robot perform more complex tasks in animal models, the engineers also say that the 3-D ultrasound tech they use could prove to be a valuable tool to today’s surgeons.

Via Science Daily

The Visible Body offers an educational experience, and the chance to poke a spleen

Let’s get to the limitations right away: Mac and even Firefox users will have to sit this one out, since it only runs on a PC, in Internet Explorer. And XP is probably your best bet, too, since Vista users have apparently reported some glitches when using the beta version of this very cool new interactive tool.

All that aside, though, the Visible Body, a new, and free, interactive experience from Argosy Publishing, is pretty mind-blowing. It’s Gray’s Anatomy in 3-D. (The book, people, not the show.)

At this point the app doesn’t impart too much information; it helps the casual browser learn what’s where, but not how things work. Navigating the 3-D model is fairly intuitive, and the program keeps things simple by starting with a basic skeleton, and letting the user add different systems or organs one at a time. Med students or undergrads cramming for exams are probably going to love it, but it’s a neat experience for a run-of-the-mill nerd, too.

New software predicts where structures could crack under strain

Researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Florida International University have developed a technique that enables them to identify the weak spots in a structure from afar.

The program they developed, Scan and Solve, uses 3D data of an object to predict where it is most likely to fracture, and how its faulty spots will be affected by outside forces such as gravity or other forms of strain.

The team tested the software on one of the most famous sculptures in the world, Michelangelo’s David, and the results of the program matched previous analyses of the statue. David has already incurred damage from cracks, and Scan and Solve “predicted� those weak spots. The idea, though, is that the program could be used to identify trouble areas in artifacts or statues or structures that have not yet begun to break down, giving engineers a chance to address those potential problems before serious damage sets in.

In the future, the researchers say the technique could be combined with medical imaging technology to help doctors pinpoint weakness in a patient’s bone structure.

Via Medgadget