This article I just read in MIT's Technology Review magazine describes a fantastic new robotic device, which allows heart surgeons to operate through only one small incision. It consists of a snakelike articulated robot that is capable of accurately sliding along a path in three dimensions described by the surgeon in real-time with a joystick. That way the robot does not risk exerting uncontrolled lateral pressure on the patient's inner organs as it moves. The two photos (credit: Amir Degani) illustrate the functioning of the CardioArm device, which really does have the creepy appearance of a snake. In the second photo you can spot the snake robot crawling right underneath the membrane tissue of a pig's heart. Absolutely amazing. This is totally the kind of thing that really gets me excited about science and technology, especially as in this case when engineers take a cue from nature to design higher-performing systems.
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