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Review
. 2021 Dec 21;7(1):56.
doi: 10.1038/s41526-021-00183-3.

Robot-assisted surgery in space: pros and cons. A review from the surgeon's point of view

Desirè Pantalone  1 , Giulia Satu Faini  2 , Francesca Cialdai  3 , Elettra Sereni  3 , Stefano Bacci  4 , Daniele Bani  5 , Marco Bernini  6 , Carlo Pratesi  7 , PierLuigi Stefàno  8 , Lorenzo Orzalesi  9   10 , Michele Balsamo  11 , Valfredo Zolesi  11 , Monica Monici  3
Affiliations
Review

Robot-assisted surgery in space: pros and cons. A review from the surgeon's point of view

Desirè Pantalone et al. NPJ Microgravity. .

Abstract

The target of human flight in space has changed from permanence on the International Space Station to missions beyond low earth orbit and the Lunar Gateway for deep space exploration and Missions to Mars. Several conditions affecting space missions had to be considered: for example the effect of weightlessness and radiations on the human body, behavioral health decrements or communication latency, and consumable resupply. Telemedicine and telerobotic applications, robot-assisted surgery with some hints on experimental surgical procedures carried out in previous missions, had to be considered as well. The need for greater crew autonomy in health issues is related to the increasing severity of medical and surgical interventions that could occur in these missions, and the presence of a highly trained surgeon on board would be recommended. A surgical robot could be a valuable aid but only inasfar as it is provided with multiple functions, including the capability to perform certain procedures autonomously. Space missions in deep space or on other planets present new challenges for crew health. Providing a multi-function surgical robot is the new frontier. Research in this field shall be paving the way for the development of new structured plans for human health in space, as well as providing new suggestions for clinical applications on Earth.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Effect of exposure to modeled microgravity in wound healing.
The effect of exposure to modeled microgravity conditions in an in vivo model of wound healing (Hirudo Medicinalis): collagen fibers content at the wound site in 1 x g control (a) and microgravity-exposed sample (b). Exposure to modeled microgravity induces a significant decrease in collagen fibers content with evident disorganization of the fiber network. Picrosirius red staining.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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