Robot Cameras – Development of the “Surgical Bug”

This week the New Scientist reported that pill-sized, robot cameras that will crawl through our bodies in order to give surgeons an inside view of areas of concern are soon to enter human trials.

Though cameras that can be swallowed to relay internal pictures from within a patient’s body already exist, these cannot be controlled and simply flow through the intestinal tract. The new robot cameras, however, are fitted with six legs with small hooks which allow the camera to be controlled remotely by the operator. Once centred on the area of interest within the patient’s body, a five millimetre set of jaws will clamp the camera in place so the specific area of concern can be studied in detail.

This is by no means the only intestinal bug in development as a robotic inch-worm known as the HeartLander is also on the drawing board which will use miniature suction cups to cling the exterior of a patient’s heart so as to enable it to administer drugs, implant electrodes or even perform coronary artery bypass procedures.

These developments, however, are very much seen as only the beginning, as it is widely believed that nanotechnology will eventually see swarms of robotic devices being enlisted to assist with surgical treatments. And, with robots such as HeartLander already forging ahead – its creators are on record saying that HeartLander could be available in as little as two to three years – it would appear that, as futuristic as these devices sound, it is only a matter of time before we find ourselves being treated by machines from within.