Researchers led by Dr. Robert Webster of Vanderbilt University's Medical Engineering and Discovery Laboratory have developed a new type of wrist joint for surgical robots. It's only 2 millimeters wide, which permits it to get inside extremely narrow spots in the body, then turn a corner.
The team made the joint by cutting out portions of the arm. A wire inside that arm constricts and releases, activating and deactivating the joint.
According to a press release by Vanderbilt, Webster suggests that the first use of the wrist will be transnasal brain surgery. Accessing the brain through the nose will be easier on the patient than cutting into the skull.
-via Gizmodo
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It certainly worked for the ancient Egyptians.
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