X-Message-Number: 64
From arpa!Xerox.COM!merkle.pa Sun Feb 19 15:06:30 PST 1989
Received: from Semillon.ms by ArpaGateway.ms ; 19 FEB 89 15:06:40 PST
Date: Sun, 19 Feb 89 15:06:30 PST
From: 
Subject: CRYONICS: "Tiny Surgical Robot Being Developed" in Japan
To: 
Message-ID: <>
Status: R


The Saturday, February 18 issue of the San Jose Mercury News reports on
page 26A on "Tiny Surgical Robot Being Developed".  The text of the article
is:

TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese scientists have begun developing a tiny robot to
move inside the human body to treat diseased tissue, a professor said
Wednesday.

The scientists eventually hope to produce a robot that can transmit its
location and findings, and can cut or otherwise treat diseased parts, said
Iwao Fujimasa of Tokyo University's Research Center for Advanced Science
and Technology.

"Researchers for many years have sent probes to study the oceans and outer
space.  We hope to be able to study the inner world," Fujimasa said.

Fujimasa, an artificial-heart specialist, said the goal is a robot less
than .04 inches [about 1,000 microns] in size that will be able to travel
through veins and inside organs.

The project will require that the smallest currently available parts, such
as motors, gears and screws, be reduced to about a thousandth their present
size, he said.

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