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A display screen seize from a NASA broadcast exhibits a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft on its approach to the International Space Station on Jan. 30, 2024 with the spaceMIRA from Virtual Incision onboard. | Source: NASA
Virtual Incision’s MIRA surgical robotic system has made it to the International Space Station (ISS).
Lincoln, Nebraska–based mostly Virtual Incision acquired a grant in 2022 for the MIRA platform for use in a expertise demonstration aboard the ISS. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) awarded the grant to make use of the miniaturized robotic-associated surgical procedure (RAS) platform on the 2024 expertise demonstration mission.
The firm mentioned its spaceMIRA machine sat aboard a Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft carried by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It says the robotic will assess the affect of zero gravity when performing simulated surgical duties. During a portion of the experiment, the corporate plans for a surgeon operator at its Nebraska headquarters to remotely management the robotic.
Virtual Incision believes the miniaturization of RAS might provide a breakthrough in distant robotic surgical procedure. The firm feels it might simplify workflows on the affected person web site. Its MIRA machine presents a small kind issue RAS choice roughly 1,000 occasions lighter than present applied sciences.
“As thrilling as it is to have our technology in space, we expect the impact of this research will be most notable on Earth,” mentioned John Murphy, president and CEO of Virtual Incision. “The introduction of miniRAS has the potential to revolutionize healthcare by making every operating room robot-ready. We are taking a significant step by developing MIRA, an investigational device currently under review by the FDA. The testing with spaceMIRA will tell us more about the future potential of miniRAS as it might be applied to remote surgery applications.”
More concerning the Virtual Incision MIRA platform
The MIRA surgical robotic. | Source: Virtual Incision
MIRA features a small, self-contained surgical machine inserted by means of a single midline umbilical incision within the affected person’s stomach. It permits for complicated, multi-quadrant stomach surgical procedures. The system additionally makes use of present minimally invasive instruments and strategies which might be acquainted to surgeons. Altogether, MIRA weighs about two kilos.
The platform acquired IDE approval in October 2020, adopted by approval for an IDE complement in April. Virtual Incision submitted MIRA to the FDA for de novo evaluation in May 2023.
In November 2021, Virtual Incision accomplished a $46 million Series C financing spherical to help the robotic surgical procedure platform. Virtual Incision then raised $30 million extra in September 2023.
“When we started this work at the University of Nebraska, we shared a collective vision that miniRAS could make robotic-assisted surgery available to any patient, any time, anywhere,” mentioned Shane Farritor, co-founder and chief expertise officer at Virtual Incision and professor of mechanical engineering on the University of Nebraska. “Exploring the use of miniRAS in extreme environments helps our teams understand how we can remove barriers for patients.”
The rocket that carried MIRA to the ISS additionally carried GITAI’s newest robotic system, S2. S2 is the Torrance, Calif.-based firm’s dual-armed robotic system. Now that it has been delivered, the ISS crew will mount S2 on the Nanoracks Bishop Airlock, and the robotic conduct an exterior demonstration of in-space servicing, assembling, and manufacturing (ISAM).
NASA broadcasted the launch of the spacecraft carrying MIRA. Watch right here:
Editor’s Note: This article was syndicated from our sister web site MassDevice.