Surgery

An illustration highlighting the cingulum in the brain, and how the electrode was implanted there in the patient

Biology

Neuroscientists zap patient’s brain to induce laughter ... during surgery

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.

Members of the Children's National team run through the procedure used to implant the pacemaker

Medical

Little pacemaker may do away with big surgeries on babies

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.

A student uses the Fundamental Surgery system to perform a virtual knee operation

Medical

Surgical training system lets students feel what they're virtually doing

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.

It may look like a regular stent, but the smart stent has a tiny sensor to monitor for changes in blood flow, and can emit wireless signals to an external device to alert doctors of early signs of artery narrowing

Medical

Smart stent stands guard for narrowing arteries and sends alerts

Researchers at the University of British Columbia (UBC) have developed a surgery-ready smart stent that keeps watch for the early warning signs of narrowing arteries, and sends out a wireless signal to alert the patient and doctors.

The discovery of a unique brain signal will allow Parkinson's disease patients to undergo deep brain stimulation surgery without being conscious

Medical

Brain signal discovery may let Parkinson's patients sleep through brain surgery

Researchers at the Bionics Institute in Melbourne have discovered a unique brain signal that might allow sufferers of Parkinson's disease to have electrodes inserted at the correct location in their brain without them needing to be conscious.

The HoloLens headset is still only available to developers, in the UK

Medical

Surgeons use HoloLens to peer into patients' legs

Overlaying 3D holograms on its wearer's view of the real world, Microsoft's HoloLens augmented reality headset has allowed users to do everything from reading emotions to taking a virtual tour of Mars. More recently, it's also been used to guide doctors performing lower limb surgery.

An experimental app called WoundCare aims to reduce hospital readmissions

Medical

Wound monitoring app may keep patients out of hospitals

According to recent studies, surgical site infections (SSIs) are the leading cause of hospital readmission following an operation. In hopes of catching those SSIs before readmission is necessary, scientists have developed an experimental app known as WoundCare.

The MilliDelta is a tiny robotic arm that could be used for micro-scale picking, packing, manufacturing and even surgery

Robotics

Harvard's tiny robot arm picks, packs and performs surgery on the micro scale

Harvard engineers have developed the world’s smallest Delta robot, dubbed the MilliDelta. As its name suggests, the new robot measures just a few millimeters, and could lend a hand in precise picking, packing, manufacturing and surgery on the micro scale.

A new study has uncovered how a general anesthetic disrupts connectivity between parts of the brain resulting in a strange form of unconsciousness

Science

Anesthetics found to do more than simply induce sleep

New research from the University of Queensland is shedding new light on what exactly is going on in our brains when we're knocked out by a general anesthetic – and it's much more complex that simply falling asleep.

An artificial prostate fitted with a soft sensor

3D Printing

3D-printed organs could let surgeons practice and plan dangerous operations

Researchers have used 3D-printing technology to produce individually-tailored model organs. These dummy organs could one day improve your chances of surviving surgery, by allowing doctors to plan and practice a lifesaving procedure on a realistic replica before putting you to the scalpel.

Once squirted into the wound, the MeTro glue is said to behave much like the silicone sealants used around bathroom tiles

Medical

Squirtable surgical glue seals wounds in 60 seconds

Advanced surgical glues that seal wounds faster could mean big things when it comes to medical care. A new material is showing particular promise in this regard, with the ability to be squirted directly into a wound, seal it in 60 seconds and dissolve thereafter.

The instrument developed at UT Austin is claimed to be both much quicker and more accurate at detecting cancer than existing approaches

Medical

Pen-like tool detects cancer in seconds

Distinguishing cancerous tissue from healthy tissue is a chief concern when it comes to surgery. Researchers have now developed a pen-like device that could prove hugely valuable in this regard, working to identify cancerous tissue during surgery to boost the chances of a successful procedure.