‘Surgery in very forward, far away places’: Nebraska company to send mini surgical robot to the ISS

By Jack Keenan

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    LINCOLN, Nebraska (KETV) — Lincoln medical device company Virtual Incision developed the world’s first mini robotic-assisted surgery system known as MIRA.

“MIRA is a small surgical robot that’s actually inserted into the body during surgery,” said Virtual Incision co-founder Shane Farritor.

“The surgeon is still the one performing the surgery. The robot is really just another tool the surgeon can use. Every motion is commanded by the surgeon.”

Instead of a single, large incision for an open procedure, MIRA allows for a few small incisions to insert instruments.

“It’s a small robot that goes inside the body instead of a big robot on the outside,” said Farritor.

Because of MIRA’s potential, NASA and the U.S. Army invested in the device’s potential.

“Both those organizations want to do surgery in very forward, faraway places,” said Farritor.

“So, we’re going to send a device up to the International Space Station where it will do simulated surgical tasks, and it’ll be controlled by a surgeon here on Earth.”

A prototype of the payload that will be sent to the International Space Station is already housed inside Virtual Incision’s new headquarters.

“We can test to see how well the robot fits and how it will be used,” said master’s student Rachael Wagner.

“It’s got a task board for simulating surgical tasks in space. It’s got the MIRA robot made by virtual incision and then a lot of control electronics.”

Although challenges like overcoming time delays and perfecting the device’s cooling systems remain, the future has never been brighter for telemedicine and the next generation of innovators.

“I’m going to be so excited, maybe a little nervous, I want to make sure it works perfectly the first time,” said Wagner. “I just can’t wait until we finish our experiment and I can get my hands on the data.”

According to Farritor, if everything stays on schedule, MIRA will be launched this December, with experiments on the International Space Station starting in early 2024.

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