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Robots May Allow Surgery in Space Small robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may allow doctors on Earth to help perform surgery on patients in space. The tiny，wheeled robots，are about 3 inches tall and as wide as a lipstick case，can be slipped into small incisionsand computer-controlled by surgeons in different locations. Some robots are equippedcameras and lights and can send images back to surgeons and others have surgical tools attached that can beremotely. We think this is going to open surgery，Dr Dmitry Oleynikov said at a news conference. Oleynikov is a in computer-assisted surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha. Officials hope that NASA will teachto use the robots soon enough so that surgeries could one day be performed in space. On earth，the surgeons could control the robots themselvesother locations. For example，the robots could enable surgeons in other places to on injured soldiers on the front line. Researchers plan to seek federal regulatoryearly nest year. Tests on animals have been successful，and tests on humans in England will begin very soon. The camera-carrying robots can provideof affected areas and the ones with surgical tools will be able to maneuverinside the body in ways surgeons hands cant. The views from the camera-carrying robots are than the naked eye，because theyback color images that are magnified。Because several robots can be inserted through one incision，they could reduce the amount and of cuts needed for surgery，which would decrease recovery time. This is particularlyto those patients who have been debilitatedby long illness. | 
