A robotic surgeon based on military technology has performed its first brain operation in Canada.

The neuroArm was developed as a collaborative effort by the University of Calgary and MacDonald Dettwiler Associates Ltd. (MDA), a Vancouver military contractor whose best known device is Canadarm used on the Space Shuttle.

The device removed a benign brain tumor from Paige Nickason, 21, who suffers from neurofibromatosis, which causes benign tumours to form on nerves. The procedure took about 9 hours.

The promise is that robotic surgeons like the neuroArm can be more accurate than a surgeon’s hands, which is vital in areas like brain surgery. MDA also hopes the spin-off will be profitable.

On a day when brain surgery is in the news it’s nice to know it’s getting better.

Posted by Dana Blankenhorn ZDNet