Cornell University’s Dr. Lawrence J. Bonasser is looking to create a new surgical procedure that will use 3D printing to help repair spinal discs. Currently, the only way to treat spinal disc degeneration is through invasive surgery. If Dr. Bonasser’s approach comes to fruition, these surgeries will only require custom printed stem cells to be injected directly into a spinal disc, repairing damaged tissue and avoiding surgical complications.

Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital have discovered a gene variant that can help predict the amount of weight a patient will lose after gastric bypass surgery. This finding could potentially assist in treatment planning for obesity and other related conditions. One variant, found on chromosome 15, was closely linked with weight loss, and individuals with two copies of this (beneficial) variant lost an average of roughly 40% of their pre-surgical weight.

A new study suggests that spinal or epidural anesthesia, which numb patients from the abdomen to toes, were linked with fewer postoperative issues and death when compared to general anesthesia in patients receiving knee or hip replacements. The use of spinal or epidural anesthesia has not been commonly used in this type of surgery, but the research shows that these types of anesthesia may play a larger role in improving patient outcomes in the future.

A 200-lens digital camera that resembles ant eyes may help improve endoscopes, and a small, robotic fly may find buried victims after disasters. These two technologies are the latest that use biological systems as design models. The camera could one day help facilitate camera-guided surgeries by using less movement than traditional camera devices, giving surgeons better resolution. The robotic fly, however, doesn’t have a practical surgical use yet.

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