Surgery

Some studies suggest anti-inflammatory drugs can slow wound healing and bone repair. New research reveals our natural circadian clocks play a major role in healing, and anti-inflammatory drugs may be more effective if taken in the morning.

In search of advanced medical devices that can be ingested by the human body and don’t need to be surgically removed after, scientists at MIT have developed a new technology that would instead break them down by exposure to certain kinds of light.

A slender robotic thread could snake its way through the brain’s blood vessels and tend to clots, guided by magnets the whole way.

A cold atmospheric plasma system designed to prevent cancer relapse has been approved for human clinical trials by the FDA.

​For some time now, we've seen surgical devices that can be remotely guided within the body. And while they do make surgery more precise, they still have to be continuously operated by a surgeon. Recently, however, a robotic catheter successfully navigated beating pig hearts on its own.

​Currently, in order to reshape cartilage such as that within the nose, incisions and sutures are typically required. Not only is the procedure invasive, but it can also result in scarring. Now, however, scientists have demonstrated a new method of cartilage-reshaping that requires no cutting.

​It was just last year that we heard about the Fundamental Surgery simulator, which utilizes dual haptic feedback arms to provide the "feel" of performing various surgical procedures. The system has now been taken a step further, with the demonstrated integration of whole-hand VR gloves.

​Like many other materials, human skin has a "grain" to it. What's more, cutting across that grain leads to more visible scars than cutting along it. A new device, currently in prototype form, could help surgeons ensure that they're doing the latter.

In an effort to better understand the effects of bariatric, or gastric bypass, surgery on type 2 diabetes, a new study has tracked the real-world experiences of over 1,000 patients to reveal 70 percent experience diabetes remission after the procedure, and remain disease free for up to five years.

Neuroscientists discovered that electrically stimulating the cingulum brain region creates a mild euphoria complete with laughter, and used it to calm down a patient undergoing a brain surgery where she needed to stay awake. It could be used as a treatment for anxiety, depression or chronic pain.

​Typically, if an infant is receiving a pacemaker, open-chest surgery is required. Should a new prototype miniature pacemaker reach commercialization, however, all that will be required is a single small incision – that means shorter surgeries, less pain and faster recoveries.

While there are already surgical training systems that use VR headsets to "place" students in an interactive computer-generated operating room, a new simulator goes a step further. It incorporates haptic feedback, allowing users to actually feel the pressure exerted by digital tissue.