Robots May Allow Surgery in Space
Small robots designed by University of Nebraska researchers may __C__1____ doctors on Earth to help perform surgery on patients in space.
The __A__2____, wheeled robots, which are about 3 inches tall and as wide as a lipstick case, can be slipped into small incisions and computer-controlled by surgeons in different __D__3____. Some robots are equipped with __C__4____ and lights and can send images back to surgeons and other have surgical tools attached that can be controlled __B__5____.
“We think this is going to replace open surgery1,” Dr. Dmitry Oleynikov said at a news __B__6____. Oleynikov is a specialist in computer-assisted surgery at the University of Nebraska Medical Center in Omaha.
Officials hope that NASA2 will teach __D__7____ to use the robots soon enough so that surgeries could3 one day be performed in space.
On earth, the surgeons could control the robots themselves from other locations. For example, the robots could enable surgeons in other places to work on injured __A__8____ on the front line. Researchers plan to seek federal regulatory apporval4 early next year. Tests on __C__9____ have been successful, and tests on humans in England will begin very soon.
The camera-carrying robots5 can provide views of __D__10____ areas and the ones6 with surgical tools will be able to maneuver7 inside the body in __B__11____ surgeons’ hands can’t. The views from the camera-carrying robots are better than the naked eye8, because they send back color images that are __A__12____. Because several robots can be inserted through one incision, they could reduce the amount and __C__13____ of cuts needed for surgery, which would decrease __D__14____ time. This is particularly helpful to those patients who have been debilitated by long illness.
__A__15____, Oleynikov said, the tiny robots may enable surgeons to work without ever placing their hands in patients’ bodies. “That’s the goal,” Oleynikov said. “It’s getting easier and easier. We can do even more with these devices.”
1. A) use B) pay C) allow D) compel
2. A) tiny B) colourful C) medium-sized D) circular
3. A) airports B) wards C) spaceships D) locations
4. A) recorders B) antennas C) cameras D) sensors
5. A) mentally B) remotely C) separately D) independently
6. A) meeting B) conference C) gathering D) forum
7. A) participants B) pilots C) nurses D) astronauts
8. A) soldiers B) doctors C) enemies D) civilians
9. A) adults B) volunteers C) animals D) patients
10. A) cured B) swollen C) wounded D) affected
11. A) lines B) ways C) routes D) channels
12. A) magnified B) minimized C) reversed D) redefined
13. A) volume B) standard C) size D) depth
14. A) exercise B) examination C) infection D) recovery