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Doctor Attempts World's First Remotely Controlled Heart Operation, in 3-D

by Amar Toor on November 16, 2010 at 10:40 AM

3-d image of heart Today, a cardiologist in England will attempt to become the world's first doctor to execute a heart operation via a remotely controlled robotic arm and advanced 3-D mapping technology.

The doctor, André Ng, is scheduled to perform an operation to correct an irregular heart rhythm, called atrial fibrillation (AF), in a 63-year-old man. To pull off the feat, he'll be using the Amigo Robotic Catheter System, which will be paired with the CARTO-3 3-D mapping system. Under Ng's direction, the robotic arm will insert thin catheter wires directly into the affected region of the patient's heart. Once inserted, the wires should ablate, or "burn," the problematic tissue. Ng, however, will be in another room at Leicester's Glenfield Hospital, and won't have to don a lead apron or expose himself to x-rays.

"It is hoped that using the two advanced technologies together would improve the efficacy and safety of these complex procedures," Ng says. "The versatility of the new Amigo system also allows for cross-platform use of different types of catheters and different mapping systems, which greatly enhance treatment options." Ng, a senior lecturer at the University of Leicester, already garnered headlines six months ago when he became the world's first person to perform a remote catheter ablation procedure. For the patient's sake, at least, we hope all goes well.

Tags: 3-D, doctor, health, heart, HeartSurgery, medical, robot, RoboticArm, surgery, top, WorldsFirst

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