Laparoscopy is an operation performed in the abdomen or pelvis using small incisions with the aid of a camera. The laparoscope aids diagnosis or therapeutic interventions with a few small cuts in the abdomen.
Dafydd "David" Rhys Williams is a Canadian physician, public speaker, author and retired CSA astronaut. Williams was a mission specialist on two Space Shuttle missions. His first spaceflight, STS-90 in 1998, was a 16-day mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia dedicated to neuroscience research. His second flight, STS-118 in August 2007, was flown by Space Shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station. During that mission he performed three spacewalks, becoming the third Canadian to perform a spacewalk and setting a Canadian record for total number of spacewalks. These spacewalks combined for a total duration of 17 hours and 47 minutes.
Remote surgery is the ability for a doctor to perform surgery on a patient even though they are not physically in the same location. It is a form of telepresence. A robot surgical system generally consists of one or more arms, a master controller (console), and a sensory system giving feedback to the user. Remote surgery combines elements of robotics, telecommunications such as high-speed data connections and elements of management information systems. While the field of robotic surgery is fairly well established, most of these robots are controlled by surgeons at the location of the surgery. Remote surgery is remote work for surgeons, where the physical distance between the surgeon and the patient is less relevant. It promises to allow the expertise of specialized surgeons to be available to patients worldwide, without the need for patients to travel beyond their local hospital.
Michael Landon Gernhardt is a NASA astronaut and manager of the Environmental Physiology Laboratory, and principal investigator of the Prebreathe Reduction Program (PRP) at the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center.
NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations, or NEEMO, is a NASA analog mission that sends groups of astronauts, engineers and scientists to live in the Aquarius underwater laboratory, the world's only undersea research station, for up to three weeks at a time in preparation for future space exploration.
Satoshi Furukawa is a Japanese surgeon and JAXA astronaut. Furukawa was assigned to the International Space Station as a flight engineer on long-duration missions Expedition 28/29, lifting off 7 June 2011 and returning 22 November 2011.
Michael Reed Barratt is an American physician and a NASA astronaut. Specializing in aerospace medicine, he served as a flight surgeon for NASA before his selection as an astronaut, and has played a role in developing NASA's space medicine programs for both the Shuttle-Mir Program and International Space Station. His first spaceflight was a long-duration mission to the International Space Station, as a flight engineer in the Expedition 19 and 20 crew. In March 2011, Barratt completed his second spaceflight as a crew member of STS-133. Barratt will pilot the SpaceX Crew-8 mission in Spring 2024.
Norishige Kanai is a Japanese doctor and JAXA astronaut.
Josef F. Schmid is a German-American physician, NASA flight surgeon and a major general in the United States Air Force Reserves. He served as an aquanaut on the joint NASA-NOAA NEEMO 12 underwater exploration mission in May 2007. On 8 October 2021 he became one of the first humans to be Holoported off the planet and into space, visiting the International Space Station by telepresence.
William Laurence Todd is a Project Manager for Exploration Analogs at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas. He has also served as a NASA Undersea Research Team Project Lead and Spaceflight Training Simulation Supervisor at NASA JSC. Todd is a veteran Aquanaut of 5 missions. In 2001, he commanded the first NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) mission, a joint NASA-NOAA program to study human survival in the Aquarius underwater laboratory in preparation for future space exploration.
Craig Anthony McKinley was a Canadian physician. On February 28, 2003, McKinley participated in the world's first telerobotic-assisted surgery, conducted at two hospitals separated by 400 kilometres. He later served as an aquanaut on the joint NASA-NOAA NEEMO 7 underwater exploration mission in October 2004, where he and other aquanauts tested remote health care procedures with potential application for space travel. McKinley experienced problems with alcohol and faced legal difficulties beginning in 2009. He lost his hospital privileges in 2011 and died in 2013.
Marcum "Marc" Reagan is a Station Training Lead in Mission Operations at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. He leads a team of instructors who together are responsible for developing and executing complex simulations for International Space Station (ISS) assembly and operations. Reagan also serves as an ISS "Capcom" from Mission Control, communicating with ISS astronauts in orbit. In May 2002, Reagan served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 2 crew. He subsequently served as Mission Director for multiple NEEMO missions.
Emma Y. Hwang is a scientist with Wyle Laboratories. She served as an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 5 crew in June 2003.
Karen Kohanowich is a retired U.S. Naval officer and ocean research and technology program manager for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)'s Office of Ocean Exploration and Research (OER). She was NOAA's Acting Director of the National Undersea Research Program (NURP) from 2006 to 2009, and served in various roles at OER, including Acting Deputy and Undersea Technology director, until retiring in 2018. In July 2006, she became an aquanaut on the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations 10 crew.
Craig B. Cooper is a professional aquanaut from the United States who served from 1991 to 2010 as Operations Manager for the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat. Cooper is known to fellow divers by the nickname "Coop".
James Raymond Talacek is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He serves as Oceanographic Field Operations Manager at Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.
Dominic Landucci is an American professional aquanaut with the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). He served as the Network Analyst at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory.
Mark Whitney Hulsbeck is an American professional aquanaut. He serves as an Oceanographic Operations Field Manager and research diver for the Aquarius Reef Base, the world's only undersea research laboratory, operated by Florida International University. Hulsbeck is nicknamed "Otter".
The AdventHealth Nicholson Center is a medical research and training center with locations in Celebration and Orlando, Florida. Founded in 2001, it operates within the AdventHealth network and trains physicians on foundational surgical techniques, including robotic surgery and laparoscopic surgery, using tools like robotic simulators, wet and dry labs. Using emerging robotic, laparoscopic and orthopedic surgical techniques, the Nicholson Center is researching to develop modified ways to operate.
Pradeep Kumar Chowbey is an Indian surgeon, known for laparoscopic and bariatric surgeries. He is the incumbent Executive vice chairman of the Max Healthcare, Chairman of the Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery and Allied Surgical Specialities of the Max Healthcare Institute, New Delhi. He is the founder of the Minimal Access, Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Centre at the Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi and has served as the Honorary Surgeon to the President of India, Dalai Lama and the Indian Armed Forces (AFMS). The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honour of the Padma Shri in 2002.
