Surgery of the future

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering

Surgery of the Future is an interactive experience which highlights research technologies funded by The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) that improve surgical procedures. Move through a virtual operating room to learn about technologies including new imaging tools, robotics, biomaterials and more. Surgery of the Future showcases government-funded technologies currently being developed to make surgery safer, more effective and less invasive.

Thanks in large part to the development of a wide range of biomedical technologies, tremendous strides have been made in surgical outcomes during the past 50 years. For example, advances in imaging technologies have made it easier for surgeons to plan surgical approaches so that they avoid cutting through healthy tissue, while robotic technologies have enabled surgeons to operate inside smaller incisions with greater accuracy and precision.

So what novel surgical technologies can we expect in the future? Surgery of the Future provides an interactive sneak peek where users can click on objects in the 3D virtual operating room to learn about a number of futuristic advances.

For example, there are robots that can stitch tissues by themselves, biomaterials that dissolve or expand once inside the body and even a tool that can reduce a surgeon’s natural hand tremor while operating.

View a video promo of the app and how to download it onto iOS devices here.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/vege