Flex Dex: New Robotic Tool for Better Minimally Invasive Surgery
Minimally invasive surgery is preferred over traditional surgical methods due to faster recovery times and less trauma to the patient's body, but tools to perform this surgery are either expensive, high-functioning robots or cheaper, more limiting manual tools. Now, engineers at the University of Michigan have developed a robotic tool that will make performing minimally invasive surgery cheaper and easier, and also provide higher functionality over existing low-cost tools. The tool, called Flex Dex, acts as an extension of the surgeon's arm, allowing the doctor to control it with just a turn of the wrist.