da Vinci robot
 

http://www.cnn.com/2002/HEALTH/11/19/heart.robots/
Check it out. It's a robot that helps a doctor perform open heart surgery.

Re: da Vinci robot
 

For the past three years my students have met with some of the designers, and operators of this amazing machine. We have actually gotten to use one in a training environment. (Thanks Ethicon-Endo Surgery!) It is fun to operate without the pressures of a real patient. We got to stretch rubber bands around simulated tissues. The bands were similar to those used for braces :D It is a fantastic application of what we do in FIRST. Problem solving to help society. The procedures that this device will allow doctors to do are incredible.