A new device, the Robotic Retinal Dissection Device (AKA the R2D2), has been used to restore the sight in an eye. What will this mean for robots in delicate surgeries in the future?
A World First
Robots operating on people is a common theme in science fiction—the emergency surgery pod in Prometheus, the birth of Luke and Leia Skywalker, and the Elysium healing pods which magically shoo away any nasty diseases and cancers. The real world, however, has taken its time in catching up to fiction.
But robotic surgeries are just around the corner thanks to a team of surgeons at Oxford’s John Radcliff Hospital. With the help of Oxford University and the creators of a cutting-edge surgical machine—the Preceyes—the world’s first robotic eye surgery took place and has restored the vision of British priest, Bill Beaver.
