Robotic snake technology slips its way into many applications

Enter the robotic snake...takes surgery to a new level with procedures to cover minimally invasive cardiac surgery, electrophysiology, laparoscopy, colonoscopy and arthroscopy....will eliminate the need to break ribs for heart surgery...and the overall costs may be reduced as well...reduced blood loss...and the unit is operated with a joy stick...it assumes the shape of its surroundings or can be reshaped...BD

"Something once performed by a surgeon may now be done by a specialist.”The laparoARM™ will be able to reach any anatomical location, no matter how complex the path, from one single access port."

A thin snake that slithers its way into challenging openings and convoluted spaces may revolutionize heart bypass surgery and the repair of power turbines in the future.
The technology is now being considered for the inspection of engines and the repair of large power turbines. “If you need to go into a space where the size varies a lot,” says Choset, “it makes sense to have a snake robot crawling around.”
The probe is highly flexible and thus either assumes the shape of its surroundings or can be reshaped. The probe “remembers” its previous configurations as it moves through a three-dimensional volume. The links of the probe can be made out of almost any material, including plastic, allowing it to be “disposable”. A working channel or lumen, allows tools to pass through the probe and perform various procedures.