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December 9, 2016

Strange But True!

Q. Might you have an appointment with Dr. Bot any time soon?

A. We hope not, but if you're considering surgery for vision correction, a robotic system might cut a flap in your cornea and plot out the series of laser pulses to reshape its inner layer, says Eliza Strickland in IEEE Spectrum magazine. With knee replacement, autonomous robots cut through bone with greater accuracy than human surgeons. Same with spine surgery, where surgeons gain 1.5-millimeter accuracy using a properly prepped guidance robot. And “at expensive clinics for hair transplants, a smart robot identifies robust hair follicles on the patient's head, harvests them and then prepares the bald spot for the implants by poking tiny holes in the scalp in a precise pattern — sparing the doctor many hours of repetitive labor.”


 
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