1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,000 NASA is known for its breakthrough technology in aeronautics and space, 2 00:00:04,000 --> 00:00:09,000 but few people realize how important NASA research has been in advancing medical technologies. 3 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Although this research rarely specifically attempts to develop these technologies, 4 00:00:13,000 --> 00:00:19,000 many of its discoveries are spun off and used in the creation of new medical devices. 5 00:00:19,000 --> 00:00:25,000 One of the latest inventions that has benefited from research performed at NASA is something called Artemis. 6 00:00:25,000 --> 00:00:31,000 This new device has the potential to make some surgeries much safer and will help to save lives. 7 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:35,000 I had the opportunity to visit the laboratory at Analytical Mechanics Associates 8 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:42,000 to help understand how Artemis will work. 9 00:00:42,000 --> 00:00:45,000 The history of medicine has a somewhat checkered past. 10 00:00:45,000 --> 00:00:49,000 From its earliest history until just before the beginning of the 20th century, 11 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:55,000 many of the earliest practitioners were only able to provide the crudest forms of medical assistance to patients. 12 00:00:55,000 --> 00:00:59,000 For years, spiritual healing, bloodletting, and herbal remedies 13 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:03,000 were generally the only form of medical help available to the average person. 14 00:01:03,000 --> 00:01:10,000 But this began to change in the late 1800s as advancements in medical practices began to move at a rapid pace. 15 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Perhaps one of the most important advancements during that time was the development of the X-ray in 1895. 16 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:23,000 With this device, doctors finally had the ability to peer inside the human body without having to perform surgery. 17 00:01:23,000 --> 00:01:27,000 Since that time, this unique machine has proven to be invaluable, 18 00:01:27,000 --> 00:01:31,000 allowing doctors a two-dimensional view inside of the patient. 19 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:34,000 Although this technology has been a revolution, 20 00:01:34,000 --> 00:01:38,000 the two-dimensional pictures were not appropriate for all types of soft tissue imaging, 21 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:42,000 such as those used in cancer diagnosis and in heart procedures. 22 00:01:42,000 --> 00:01:50,000 So, in 1973, the introduction of the CAT scan again revolutionized the way doctors could see inside patients. 23 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:55,000 This device, for the first time, allowed doctors a three-dimensional view of the body 24 00:01:55,000 --> 00:01:58,000 and was especially helpful in looking at soft tissue. 25 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:00,000 So what's the next revolution? 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:07,000 Currently, researchers using NASA technology are developing a device that could give doctors a type of X-ray vision. 27 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,000 Using a CAT scan in conjunction with virtual reality, 28 00:02:11,000 --> 00:02:18,000 researchers have developed the Augmented Reality Technology for Minimally Invasive Surgery, or ARTEMIS. 29 00:02:18,000 --> 00:02:23,000 This system may soon be helping to make surgeries much safer and much less invasive. 30 00:02:23,000 --> 00:02:27,000 I spoke with Vishan Shanawas of Analytical Mechanics Associates 31 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,000 to help us find out how ARTEMIS may be used in the future. 32 00:02:31,000 --> 00:02:37,000 ARTEMIS is a state-of-the-art technology that fuses augmented reality technology with fiber optic shape sensing. 33 00:02:37,000 --> 00:02:45,000 The augmented reality part takes 3D images of a person's anatomy and superimposes it over the real patient itself. 34 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:50,000 So this enables doctors and physicians to be able to take these 3D images 35 00:02:50,000 --> 00:02:54,000 and look at them exactly where they are on the real patient. 36 00:02:54,000 --> 00:03:01,000 The fiber optic shape sensing portion allows the doctor to see the shape and hence the tip of the needle 37 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,000 or the RF catheter or whatever device he chooses to insert into the patient. 38 00:03:05,000 --> 00:03:08,000 So can you explain to me exactly how this will work? 39 00:03:08,000 --> 00:03:12,000 The patient goes into a CAT scan machine. You get CAT scans of the patient. 40 00:03:12,000 --> 00:03:17,000 You assemble that into a 3D model. 41 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:21,000 You then take the 3D model and project it onto the screen. 42 00:03:22,000 --> 00:03:28,000 You then register the 3D model over the actual patient. 43 00:03:28,000 --> 00:03:31,000 And then the doctor can see where exactly the organs are. 44 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:36,000 You then stick the needle in with this fiber optic shape sensing technology from Luna Innovations. 45 00:03:36,000 --> 00:03:38,000 You insert it into the patient. 46 00:03:38,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Once the doctor inserts the needle into the patient, the doctor can see where the needle is going. 47 00:03:42,000 --> 00:03:49,000 The doctor guides the needle to the exact spot, burns out the tumor, extracts the tissue, does whatever the procedure demands. 48 00:03:49,000 --> 00:03:54,000 What are the issues these days with the way doctors are using CAT scans in some surgeries today? 49 00:03:54,000 --> 00:04:01,000 The problem today is that the doctor has to look away from the screen and look at the CAT scans or 3D images 50 00:04:01,000 --> 00:04:03,000 without looking directly at the patient. 51 00:04:03,000 --> 00:04:06,000 So he's trying to poke the patient, but he's looking at something else. 52 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:11,000 If you ever try to do something while looking at something else, you'll kind of realize what the difficulty is. 53 00:04:11,000 --> 00:04:14,000 But that's the general problem is that you cannot see where you're going. 54 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:18,000 You cannot look at what your target lesion is or what your target organ is. 55 00:04:18,000 --> 00:04:22,000 And you cannot see your needle once it's been inserted. 56 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,000 It's kind of like it's pretty much groping in the dark. 57 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:31,000 The Artemis system holds great promise for use in minimally invasive surgeries. 58 00:04:31,000 --> 00:04:36,000 Because these surgeries generally use probes, catheters, and needles to perform the work, 59 00:04:36,000 --> 00:04:42,000 the real-time virtual look inside the body will improve the quality, safety, and efficiency of procedures. 60 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 With tens of thousands of minimally invasive surgeries being performed each year, 61 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:53,000 the addition of the Artemis system will undoubtedly save time, reduce cost, and most importantly, help save lives. 62 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:57,000 This device gives the doctor direct x-ray vision into the patient. 63 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:01,000 So the glasses are what you use to see the stereo image. 64 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:06,000 What happens is the system draws one image as if it's being seen with your left eye. 65 00:05:06,000 --> 00:05:09,000 It draws another image as if it's being seen with your right eye. 66 00:05:09,000 --> 00:05:12,000 And it shutters it fast enough and the glasses shutter in sync 67 00:05:12,000 --> 00:05:15,000 so that you're looking at your right eye, you're looking at your left eye, and your right eye. 68 00:05:15,000 --> 00:05:18,000 And when you look at them together, it does it so fast and it syncs it together. 69 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,000 That way it looks like you're looking at a 3-D image in real life. 70 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:26,000 Now what types of NASA technology was used to help you develop this? 71 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:32,000 As you know, with NASA we've used virtual reality and visualization for ergonomic design of the space shuttle 72 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,000 and for different other types of aerospace concepts. 73 00:05:35,000 --> 00:05:40,000 We've decided to take that technology and extend it to the realm of augmented reality 74 00:05:41,000 --> 00:05:43,000 and apply that to medicine. 75 00:05:43,000 --> 00:05:45,000 We're very excited about this technology. 76 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:51,000 We're pretty sure that it can actually make minimally invasive surgical procedures a lot safer. 77 00:05:51,000 --> 00:05:56,000 It's going to make medical care from that perspective a lot less expensive. 78 00:05:56,000 --> 00:06:02,000 It's going to minimize the time for people to wait and the time for these operating procedures. 79 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:06,000 And we envision that at some point it can be applied to things such as beating heart surgery. 80 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:08,000 That's kind of like the holy grail. 81 00:06:08,000 --> 00:06:12,000 There are so many things that we're looking forward to actually doing with this and we're very excited over here.