Canada Leads Underwater Remote Robotic Surgical Mission
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.
Media are invited to interact with the undersea crew and to film Dr. Anvari
while he performs telementoring and telerobotic surgery from the CMAS
facilities in Hamilton.
Uplinks
Live videoconferences with the NEEMO 7 crew inside the Aquarius undersea
habitat are offered to Canadian media. Media attending the events in
Hamilton and Longueuil will have an opportunity to ask a question in
real-time to crewmembers.
Media uplink from the habitat to CMAS
Location: CMAS, 50 Charlton Ave East,
Hamilton, Ontario
Media uplink from the habitat to the
Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
Location: Canadian Space Agency
6767 Route de l’Aéroport
Longueuil, Quebec
Dates and times for each live uplink opportunity will soon be available. Details will be forwarded to those who register.
Telementoring and Telesurgery
Media are also invited to attend Dr. Anvari’s four remote medical
interventions in real-time. Using two-way telecommunication links, he 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.
Because of the medical environment during the surgical procedures, only
pre-arranged interviews with CMAS will be available:
Telementoring at CMAS
Location: CMAS, 50 Charlton Ave. East,
Hamilton, Ontario
Dates and times for each live opportunity will soon be available. Details
will be forwarded to those who register.
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.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton
Marc Garneau Collegiate Institute
Conference Room 3
135 Overlea Boulevard
Fontbonne Building
North York, Ontario
50 Charlton Avenue East
Hamilton, Ontario
Oct. 16, 1:00 to 2:00 p.m.
Videoconference between Aquarius and Dr. Anvari, CSA Astronaut Robert Thirsk and 450 medical students. Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario
OTHER INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES
NEEMO 7 mission training will take place between October 2- 8, the
operational mission between Oct. 11-21 and post-mission debriefing is
scheduled on Oct. 22 and 23 (these dates may change slightly). Media must
contact CMAS or CSA to book interviews in advance.
CANADIAN SPOKESPERSONS
Crewmembers
Dr. Dave Williams, CSA Astronaut, Mission Commander
Dr. Mehran Anvari, Chief Scientific Officer, Director of CMAS
Dr. Craig McKinley, Canadian Surgeon associated with CMAS
On-the-ground Canadian support
Robert Thirsk, CSA Astronaut, back-up for Dave Williams
Louise Beauchamp, CSA Mission Manager
Jean-Marc Comtois, CSA Director, Operational Space Medecine
Patrick Sullivan, CSA Project Manager, Operational Space Medecine
For more information on the mission:
