Thus, Japanese scientists from Tokyo University are developing tools that can “feel” the shape and texture of objects they touch. These new advances in haptics (the scientific study of touch) could revolutionize surgery. To demonstrate the potential of their technology-Smart Tool, the researchers used a glass which is superimposed a layer of oil and water layer. While the distinction is impossible to touch, stylus-Smart Tool enabled to distinguish the two environments. The experiment could be repeated with boiled eggs, the stylus distinguishing yellow white. Imagine the possibilities of surgical scalpels allegedly equipped with this technology.

In France it is important to note the remarkable work done by the Team Virtual Institute for Research against Cancer of the Digestive System (IRCAD) who helped develop a new technique for detection and automated delineation of liver tumors from 3 mm thick. This system not only detects lesions from 3 mm thick with an accuracy less than a millimeter, but it also allows a significant improvement in surgical procedures through the provision of 3D reconstruction of the patient before and during the operation. These tools of medical image processing, can also automatically reconstruct a 3D virtual patient, copy of the real patient.