Science: Health: Surgery
Quantum Remote Control Surgery   (+1)  [vote for, against]
Magnetic Field Locking to guide medicine/radiation/surgical instrument

Use Quantum Levitation (QL) Magnetic Field Locking to remotely grab and then move a small device in the human body. Allow directed radiation, medicine or surgery via remote QL control.

If you've seen video of the Quantum Levitation experiment by the Tel Aviv University( see link) then you can easily imagine this application of that technology.

One of the issues to overcome is the need to cool the disc with liquid nitrogen. The implant device would need to be well insulated and this might make it too large. an alternative would be to have the patient swallow a super-strong magnet ( with obvious safeguards - no other swallowed magnets ) and have cooled superconducting disks outside the body. Maybe the need to cool the implant will be reduced and the issue overcome.

Surgery of the (near?) future!
-- justinj, Dec 09 2011

Wired Article on Quantum Levitation http://www.wired.co...quantum-levitation/
Wired Article on the physics with embedded YouTube video [justinj, Dec 09 2011]

Attractive though this idea is, I see problems using either a cooled or a magnetic implant.

Can I suggest an inertial alternative?

Simply implant a small device containing a 3-axis gyro made of a dense metal, such as depleted uranium. Once it is in place and has been spun up, the patient can be conveniently rotated around the device in three axes.

Of course, translational movements will be harder, but this is where the density (and hence intertia) of the device become important. If the patient is accelerated with sufficient violence in one direction, the device's inertia will tend to keep it in place.
-- MaxwellBuchanan, Dec 09 2011



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