Well, I hope you don't think this is too weird.
But how many times have you wished your arms don't get tired while maintaining a particular posture while operating? Hand rests are there, but they don't move with your limbs. You lose time and patience adjusting them.
I was just thinking, wouldn't it be nice if you could have a operating suit (air conditioned one, of course) that adjust its external rigidity to enable one to effortlessly maintain different body postures for prolonged periods?
Is this possible?
Certain animals have muscle tissue that interlock without using further energy . Details escape my memory ... read it in some old physiology book . But hey, we are humans, and we need technology.
I guess we can use some form of
electrorheological fluid or
elctroactive polymers within the suit that instantaneously harden on applying a voltage. This should keep the total weight of the suit low. Of course we need lots of microprocessors and voice activated controls etc, but then these are easily done. It could even dampen out any unnecessary tremors or potentially hazardous inadvertent movements. {You could program a
constrained movement zone at and near the operating field} Well that should definitely help if your assistants tend to fall asleep on your Leyla ;-)
By the way, did you know that
chocolate is an electro-rheological fluid? No! no edible suit for you!
This still doesn't completely solve the issue of fatigue because there is no escaping the effort involved in lifting your arms against the pull of mother earth and maintaining it there with all the weight of the suit. [yeah... i know the French have removed a cyst in microgravity environment, but most of our patients are still or terra firma.
What about a
powered exoskeleton for the 'supersurgeon'.
This is a Japanese Cyberdyne robosuit HAL. [image courtesy Cyberdyne Inc]
Some of the military guys have all the luck researching such cool stuff.
Just watch this video. [courtesy:berkeleybionics.com]
How much will you pay for a
whole body powered exoskeleton neurosurgical operating suit which comes sterile and air conditioned. You don't even have to scrub! Just slip into it and plug in your fuel cells. yes, heads up display, and built in coffee maker are included.
More seriously, a non-obtrusive and slender powered exoskeleton which you can easily strap on to your body could be useful.
Now, where did you say the patent office was? $-)
