Dr. Dave Williams, Canadian Space Agency astronaut and mission commander will lead a 10-day undersea mission, the NASA Extreme Environment Missions Operation or NEEMO 7, at the underwater facility Aquarius, off Key Largo, Florida. The NEEMO 7 mission will take place between October 11-21, 2004 and aims to demonstrate and evaluate new medical diagnostic and therapeutic technologies to enhance the delivery of state-of-the-art medical care in remote and harsh environments.
Dr. Williams and his crew will conduct experiments using the latest remote surgical technologies and techniques, guided by Dr. Mehran Anvari, Director of the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery (CMAS) at St. Joseph’s Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario.
Telementoring and telesurgery
Using two-way telecommunication links, Dr. Anvari will guide aquanauts through diagnosis and surgery. Dr. Anvari will also virtually control surgery on a mock patient in the underwater habitat using telerobotic technology from the comfort of his ultra high-tech operating room at CMAS more than 2,454 km away.
Educational Events
Oct. 14, 2:00 to 3:00 p.m. A one-hour interactive presentation will connect NEEMO 7 aquanauts with students in Hamilton and Toronto to explore the educational aspects of the mission.
Oct. 16, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Videoconference between Aquarius and Dr. Anvari, CSA Astronaut Robert Thirsk and 450 medical students.