i-Snake 'will transform surgery'

Experts are developing a flexible surgical robot which they say could revolutionise keyhole surgery. The robot, known as the i-Snake, could enable surgeons to do complex procedures previously possible only through more invasive techniques. They envisage using the i-Snake for heart bypass surgery, but it could also be used to diagnose problems in the gut and bowel by acting as the surgeon's hands and eyes in hard to reach places inside the body.