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Underwater Space Mission Tests Remote Surgery

Hamilton, Ontario, August 9, 2004 – Canadian Astronaut Dr. Dave Williams will be mission commander of the 10-day underwater NEEMO 7 mission, October 11 to 21, 2004, off Key Largo, Florida. Williams and his crew will conduct experiments using the latest remote surgical technologies and techniques, guided by Dr. Mehran Anvari, director of the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) in Hamilton, Ontario.

The underwater crew will also include Dr. Craig McKinley, a Canadian surgeon associated with CMAS, and NASA Astronauts Dr. Michael Barratt and Catherine Coleman. CSA Astronaut Bob Thirsk, NASA Astronaut Tracy Caldwell, and Dr. Tim Broderick of the University of Cincinnati will act as back-up crew.

"The extreme conditions of a long underwater mission are similar to those of space," said Dr. Williams. The NEEMO 7 mission presents aquanauts and physicians with an unprecedented opportunity to test state-of-the-art remote medical techniques in real-time and real-life situations. Someday, these techniques could be used in long-duration, manned space flights."

NEEMO 7 will focus on the demonstration and evaluation of innovative remote technologies and procedures. In the surgical simulations of telementoring, Dr. Anvari, based in Hamilton, will use two-way telecommunication links to guide an aquanaut in Aquarius. Another simulation involves telerobotics and virtual-reality technology, where Dr. Anvari, again in Hamilton, will assist in operations on a mock patient inside Aquarius.

"Since its inception in 1999, CMAS has developed techniques to overcome some challenges faced by physicians in isolated communities," said Dr. Anvari. "The NEEMO 7 mission allows us to test these techniques in an extreme environment and to enable non-surgeons to deliver emergency diagnostic and surgical care. This work will have a major impact on current research and development of new technologies including new robotic and surgical platforms which can be used here on Earth and beyond."

The experiments will take place 19 metres below the surface of the sea in an underwater habitat called Aquarius. Located 5.6 km off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, this marine habitat is about 3 by 14 metres, with 11 cubic metres of living and laboratory space.

There have been six NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations) missions to date. NEEMO 7 is a joint project involving the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, the Canadian Space Agency and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

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About the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery

The Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) is affiliated with McMaster University and located at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario. As a state-of-the-art, multidisciplinary, technological education and research centre, it is designed to increase awareness and understanding, and support the research and development, of the specialized techniques of minimal access surgery. One of the primary goals of CMAS is to facilitate the training of physicians in remote parts of Canada, in order to increase the competence and scope of minimal access surgery in these regions.

About the Canadian Space Agency

Established in 1989, with headquarters in Longueuil, Quebec, the Canadian Space Agency is an agency of the Government of Canada. Its mission is to promote the peaceful use and development of space, to advance the knowledge of space through science, and to ensure that space science and technology provide social and economic benefits for Canadians.

For more information, please contact:

Carole Duval
Media Relations Advisor
Media Relations and Information Services
Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: 450-926-4972
E-mail: carole.duval@asc-csa.gc.ca

Jocelyn Garrett
Centre for Minimal Access Surgery
Director, Marketing and Community Relations
Telephone: 905-522-1155, ext. 3408
E-mail: jgarrett@stjosham.on.ca

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