Helloooo, Nurse.
Dr. Thomas M. Hemmerling and colleagues at a McGill University created the world’s first anesthesia robot back in 2008, which was nicknamed (I kid you not) McSleepy™. After developing a robot to knock people unconscious it only stands to reason that your next step is to draw a penis on their forehead and take pictures make a robot that rams cylindrical objects down their throat. Giggity.
The Kepler Intubation System (KIS) is the world’s first intubation robot, because who better to install an endotracheal tube in a helpless, anesthetized human than a soulless machine controlled via a joystick? Montreal General Hospital must agree, because earlier this month they let Dr. Hemmerling perform the first robotic intubation with a patient there. Also, there’s this sentence in the press release which I’m just going to cut and paste here for posterity:
Correct insertion of this tube into patients’ airways is a complex manoeuvre that requires considerable experience and practice to master. [McGill University via Medgadget]
That’s what she said.
And here’s a closer look at this machine’s biggest fan:
[Tube bear via BioTV]