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Crab Robot Helps Remove Stomach Cancer

Posted by samzenpus on from the under-the-spleen dept.

redletterdave writes "Singaporean researchers have created a miniature robot with a pincer and a hook that can remove early-stage stomach cancers without leaving any scars. Mounted on an endoscope, it enters the patient's gut through the mouth. It has a pincer to hold cancerous tissues, and a hook that slices them off and coagulates blood to stop bleeding. With the help of a tiny camera attached to the endoscope, the surgeon sees what's inside the gut and controls the robotic arms remotely while sitting in front of a monitor screen. The robot has already helped remove early-stage stomach cancers in five patients in Hong Kong and India, using a fraction of the time normally taken in open and keyhole surgeries that put patients at higher risk of infection and leave behind scars."

13 of 83 comments (clear)

  1. Hm... by Mursk · · Score: 5, Funny

    So it's a cancer that removes cancer?

    Yo, dawg...

    --
    "This thing does science so hard, you say, 'I've never seen that much science.'" -Sam
    1. Re:Hm... by Cryacin · · Score: 4, Funny

      So let me get this straight. To cure my cancer, I need to get crabs?

      --
      Science advances one funeral at a time- Max Planck
  2. Uh, a robot crab that crawls down your throat? by oodaloop · · Score: 5, Funny

    Welcome to the future! It's creepy, terrifying, and bizarre. And no flying cars.

    --
    Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    1. Re:Uh, a robot crab that crawls down your throat? by callmetom · · Score: 5, Informative

      Found it

    2. Re:Uh, a robot crab that crawls down your throat? by Genda · · Score: 3, Informative

      No, the lymphoma would still be present and just metastasize to some other organ/tissue. This might treat the tumor in the stomach, but it would only be a stop gap measure with limited viability in the long haul. There are other recent technologies however that might make a difference, including monoclonal antibodies carrying everything from toxins and markers for the immune system to nano-particles of metals that can convert various EMR into heat and kill tumors and cancer cells. You may want to do a quick look up for animal experimentation for cancer research to see if anyone in your area is conducting research for feline lymphoma.

    3. Re:Uh, a robot crab that crawls down your throat? by kaliann · · Score: 4, Informative

      IAAV. Very sorry to hear about your cat. I can try to offer you some information, but I encourage you to discuss options with your vet.

        Lymphoma, one of the most common forms of cancer in cats, cannot generally be cured by excision. By the time of diagnosis it is frequently in multiple organs, and it spreads easily by lymphatic ducts and blood vessels. Lymphoma has many different forms, and these vary in prognosis, so it may be worth your while to pursue further diagnostics to determine which type is being faced (B-cell, T-cell, acute, chronic, large cell, small cell, granular cell, virus associated, etc.).

      Chemotherapy is available for cats, and many vets have access to basic protocols for lymphoma or can refer you to a veterinary oncologist (cancer specialist).

      Please understand that the goals for veterinary chemotherapy are generally much different than in human medicine. Human medicine usually aims for a complete cure, and that can mean putting the patient through a very stressful - sometimes debilitating - regimen of potent drugs. By contrast, veterinary medicine considers "good time" to be a worthy goal if cure is unlikely. For example: if the highest doses of treatment return a 5% survival rate but a poor quality of life under treatment, this is unlikely to be recommended by your vet. (S)he will more likely recommend a regimen that prolongs your pet's life without severely decreasing its quality. We try to keep pets as happy/comfortable as we can for as long as we can.

      Also, even in cases where cancer-killing chemotherapy is likely to be unrewarding, anti-inflammatory and steroid drugs can provide relief from discomfort and sometimes slow progression. They also tend to be inexpensive compared to the more aggressive protocols.

      I wish you the best of luck.

      The original question of whether or not this would work on cats: a small enough version could work on cats, but a veterinarian would have to have access to it. It will be a while before this is widespread in the human market, let alone in the veterinary world. It is essentially an (immense!) improvement on the non-robotic biopsy tools already in use in endoscopy, with a lovely cautery feature built in.

  3. Pics or it didn't happen by Lambeco · · Score: 3, Insightful

    How can you write an article about a cancer-killing crab robot and not include a picture of said robo-crab?

  4. That is not a robot by Catbeller · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That is not a robot. It is a tele-operated tool, related to a waldo (A waldo mimics one's movements precisely - See Heinlein's story Waldo). Call it a waldo, just to keep it simple. For example, a powered suit worn by a person is a very complex waldo.

    A robot is not completely operated by a human. It can be partially so; the Mars rovers are robots that do what they are told, but interpret the commands with their own programming, as they are 45 light minutes away and cannot be controlled directly.

    A robot has it's own "brain". It independently operates in its environment by its own perception and judgement.

    A claw on a stick is not a robot. Words are important. These things have names, and confusing the terminology muddles communication.

    1. Re:That is not a robot by oodaloop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Sorry, I don't think that's entirely accurate. Wikipedia, among others, defines robot as a mechanical agent that be autonomous, semi-autonomous, or remote controlled. We've had bomb disposal robots for years, for instance, that are entirely remote controlled.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
    2. Re:That is not a robot by oodaloop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Yeah, my only point is we don't yet have enough words in the English language to distinguish among all the various forms of our non-biological overlords, underlings, and peers. The word robot has been co-opted to mean almost any kind of vaguely anthropomorphic mechanism, mechanical "arm", wind-up toy, UAV, artificial voice, Mars rover, Transformer, etc. Android used to be a viable term, but now would be confused with the OS. Droid is right out.

      --
      Tic-Tac-Toe, Global Thermonuclear War, and relationships all have the same winning move.
  5. Remote control tools by AxeTheMax · · Score: 4, Informative

    That's what it is, a remote tool controlled by the surgeon. Not a robot which would work independently.

  6. Here is a picture of the device by pavon · · Score: 5, Informative

    The Globe and Mail is also running this story and they included a picture of the device, just like every other site that ran the Reuters story. But thank you slashdot for continuing to link to shitty IBT stories, because I had never seen a crab before.

  7. Re:Wow... by Mursk · · Score: 3, Funny

    Then, once the stomach cancer robots get rid of the crabs, we simply release wave after wave of Chinese needle snakes. They'll wipe out the cancer robots.

    --
    "This thing does science so hard, you say, 'I've never seen that much science.'" -Sam