Advances In Medical Tech
Program Information
Series: Destination TomorrowProgram: Episode 20
Segment Number: 2 (Watch entire program)
Duration: 00:06:13
Year Produced: 2005
Description:
Second segment of episode 20 contains the TechWatch segment which describes how NASA research has been the driving force behind new medical technology. The second segment of episode 20 begins with a brief flashback of how the practice of medicine has evolved from X rays to current Cat scans. The Advances in Medical Tech segment describes how the ARTEMIS technology combines CAT scans with virtual imaging technology to provide doctors with greater precision in their operations.
NASA's Destination Tomorrow™ is a series of 30-minute programs that focus on NASA research. Each exciting program gives the audience an inside look at NASA and demonstrates how research and technology relate to our everyday lives.
For more information visit: http://destination.larc.nasa.gov/Transcript
NASA is known for
its breakthrough technology
in aeronautics and space,
but few people realize how
important NASA research has been
in advancing
medical technologies.
Although this research
rarely specifically attempts
to develop these technologies,
many of its discoveries
are spun off
and used in the creation
of new medical devices.
One of the latest inventions
that has benefited
from research performed at NASA
is something called ARTEMIS.
This new device
has the potential
to make some surgeries
much safer
and will help to save lives.
I had the opportunity to visit
the laboratory at
Analytical Mechanics Associates
to help understand
how ARTEMIS will work.
The history of medicine
has a somewhat checkered past.
From its earliest history
until just before the beginning
of the 20th century,
many of the earliest
practitioners
were only able to provide
the crudest forms of medical
assistance to patients.
For years, spiritual healing,
bloodletting,
and herbal remedies
were generally
the only form of medical help
available to the average person,
but this began to change
in the late 1800s
as advancements
in medical practices
began to move at a rapid pace.
Perhaps one of the most
important advancements
during that time
was the development
of the X-ray in 1895.
With this device,
doctors finally had the ability
to peer inside the human body
without having
to perform surgery.
Since that time,
this unique machine
has proven to be invaluable,
allowing doctors
a two-dimensional view
inside of the patient.
Although this technology
has been a revolution,
the two-dimensional pictures
were not appropriate
for all types
of soft-tissue imaging,
such as those used
in cancer diagnosis
and in heart procedures.
So in 1973,
the introduction of the CAT scan
again revolutionized
the way doctors could see
inside patients.
This device for the first time
allowed doctors
a three-dimensional view
of the body
and was especially helpful
in looking at soft tissue.
So what's the next revolution?
Currently, researchers
using NASA technology
are developing a device
that could give doctors
a type of X-ray vision.
Using a CAT scan in conjunction
with virtual reality,
researchers have developed
the Augmented Reality Technology
for Minimally Invasive Surgery,
or ARTEMIS.
This system may soon be helping
to make surgeries much safer
and much less invasive.
I spoke with Vishant Shahnawaz
of Analytical Mechanics
Associates
to help us find out how ARTEMIS
may be used in the future.
(Shahnawaz)
ARTEMIS is
a state-of-the-art technology
that fuses
augmented reality technology
with fiber-optic shape sensing.
The augmented reality part
takes 3-D images
of a person's anatomy
and superimposes it
over the real patient itself.
So this enables
doctors and physicians
to be able to take these
3-D images and look at them
exactly where they are
on the real patient.
The fiber-optic
shape-sensing portion
allows the doctor
to see the shape
and hence the tip
of the needle or the RF catheter
or whatever device he chooses
to insert into the patient.
So can you explain to me
exactly how this will work?
(Shahnawaz)
The patient goes
into a CAT scan machine.
You get CAT scans
of the patient.
You assemble that
into a 3-D model.
You then take the 3-D model
and project it onto the screen.
You then register the 3-D model
over the actual patient,
and then the doctor can see
where exactly the organs are.
You then stick the needle in
with this fiber-optic
shape-sensing technology
from Lunar Innovations.
You insert it into the patient.
Once the doctor inserts
the needle into the patient,
the doctor can see
where the needle is going.
The doctor guides the needle
to the exact spot,
burns out the tumor,
extracts the tissue,
does whatever
the procedure demands.
What are the issues these days
with the way
doctors are using CAT scans
in some surgeries today?
The problem today
is that
the doctor has to look
away from the screen
and look at the CAT scans
or 3-D images
without looking directly
at the patient.
So he's trying to poke
the patient,
but he's looking
at something else.
If you ever try
to do something
while looking
at something else,
you'll kind of realize
what the difficulty is.
But that's the general problem,
is that you cannot see
where you're going.
You cannot look at
what your target lesion is
or what your target organ is,
and you cannot see your needle
once it's been inserted.
It's kind of like--
It's pretty much
groping in the dark.
(O'Bryon)
The ARTEMIS system
holds great promise
for use in
minimally invasive surgeries.
Because these surgeries
generally use
probes, catheters, and needles
to perform the work,
the real-time virtual look
inside the body
will improve
the quality, safety,
and efficiency of procedures.
With tens of thousands of
minimally invasive surgeries
being performed each year,
the addition
of the ARTEMIS system
will undoubtedly save time,
reduce cost,
and, most importantly,
help save lives.
(Shahnawaz)
This device gives the doctor
direct X-ray vision
into the patient.
So the glasses are what you use
to see the stereo image.
What happens is,
the system draws one image
as if it's being seen
with your left eye.
It draws another image
as if it's being seen
with your right eye.
And it shutters it fast enough,
and the glasses
shutter in sync,
so that you're looking
at your right eye,
or you're looking at your
left eye and your right eye,
and when you look at them
together,
it does it so fast,
and syncs it together.
That way, it looks like
you're looking at a 3-D image
in real life.
Now, what types
of NASA technology was used
to help you develop this?
As you know,
with NASA, we've used virtual
reality and visualization
for ergonomic design
of the space shuttle
and for different other types
of aerospace concepts.
We've decided
to take that technology
and extend it to the realm
of augmented reality
and apply that to medicine.
Very excited
about this technology.
We're pretty sure
that it can actually make
many millions of surgical
procedures a lot safer.
It's going to make medical care
from that perspective
a lot less expensive.
It's going to minimize
the time for people to wait
and the time
for these operating procedures.
And we envision
that at some point,
it can be applied to things
such as beating-heart surgery.
That's kind of like
the holy grail.
So there's so many things
that we're looking forward
to actually doing with this,
and we're very excited
over here.