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Subject key:

  • Science
  • Design & Technology
  • Engineering
  • Maths

Student age:

  • Under 11
  • 11-14
  • 14-16
  • 16+
Map representing the significance of remote surgery

What is Remote Surgery?

Science Design and Technology Appropriate for children aged 11 to 14 Appropriate for children aged 14 to 16

Type: Starter activity (15 mins)

Telemedicine is a new and fast developing field in healthcare.  Even 20 years ago the idea of a surgeon being able to operate a robot from hundreds of miles away in order to perform an operation seemed like science fiction.

Today, this is not only possible but engineers, working with scientists and doctors, are now designing robotic systems which will be able to operate on patients with no human intervention at all.

This activity is a quick, engaging introduction to a lesson using telemedicine and robotics as a context to explore electromagnetism and the link between technology and real-life science.

Related resources

Engineering context

The story

Remote Medicine

A video clip looking at how some medical procedures can be performed remotely.

Supporting multimedia

The story

Doc bot game

The story

Remote operations quiz

Test you knowledge of telemedicine!

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