Astronauts and Canadian Surgeons to Demonstrate Remote Medical Care(Forwarded)

Canadian Space Agency

March 29, 2006

Astronauts and Canadian Surgeons to Demonstrate Remote Medical Care

Longueuil, Quebec -- Canadian Space Agency astronaut Dr. Dave Williams
will be commander of the 18-day underwater NEEMO 9 mission, April 3 to 20,
2006, off Key Largo, Florida. 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) in Hamilton, Ontario.

The NEEMO 9 mission will demonstrate and evaluate innovative remote
medical care technologies and procedures. Canada can play a leading role
in telerobotic surgery because its advanced space robotics technology,
telecommunications capability, and visionary medical expertise have come
together in a unique way. In the surgical simulations involving
telementoring, Dr. Anvari, based in Hamilton, will use two-way high-speed
telecommunication links to direct crewmembers in the underwater Aquarius
habitat to perform complex medical procedures.

"The extreme conditions of a long underwater mission are similar to those
of space," said Dr. Williams, who participated in the first NEEMO mission
and a 16-day space flight on the Space Shuttle Columbia. "The NEEMO 9
mission presents aquanauts and physicians with an unprecedented
opportunity to test new medical technologies and state-of-the-art remote
medical techniques in real-time and real-life situations. Someday, these
capabilities could have important applications in supporting human
exploration of the Moon and Mars."

Another simulation involves telerobotics and virtual-reality technology,
where Dr. Anvari will perform surgical procedures from Hamilton on a mock
patient inside Aquarius over 2,000 kilometres away. Telerobotic surgery
may change the future of medical care by providing advanced surgical
procedures to rural communities, extending the reach that city-based
teaching hospitals have to more remote areas of the country.

"Since its inception in 1999, the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery has
developed techniques to overcome some of the challenges faced by
physicians in isolated communities," said Dr. Anvari. "We will test the
latest techniques in an extreme environment on the NEEMO 9 mission. This
work will have a major impact on current research and the development of
new technologies, including new robotic and surgical platforms which can
be used on Earth and beyond."

The experiments will take place 19 metres below the surface of the sea in
an underwater habitat called Aquarius. Located 5.6 km off Key Largo in the
Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, this marine habitat is about the
same size as the service module of the International Space Station. The
underwater crew will also include Dr. Tim Broderick of the University of
Cincinnati and NASA Astronauts Ronald Garan and Nicole Stott. Canadian
Astronaut Chris Hadfield will act as back-up crew.

There have been eight NEEMO (NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations)
missions to date. NEEMO 9 is a joint project involving the Centre for
Minimal Access Surgery at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, the
Canadian Space Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
(NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA).

About the Centre for Minimal Access Surgery

The Centre for Minimal Access Surgery is a McMaster University Centre
located at St. Joseph's Healthcare in Hamilton, Ontario. As a
state-of-the-art multidisciplinary technological education and research
centre, it is designed to increase the awareness and understanding, as
well as support the research and development, of the specialized
techniques of minimal access surgery. One of the primary goals of CMAS is
to facilitate the training of physicians in remote parts of Canada, in
order to increase the competence and scope of minimal access surgery in
these areas.

About the Canadian Space Agency

Established in 1989, the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) coordinates all
civil, space-related policies and programs on behalf of the Government of
Canada. CSA directs its resources and activities through four key thrusts:
Earth Observation, Space Science and Exploration, Satellite
Communications, and Space Awareness and Learning. By leveraging
international cooperation, the CSA generates world-class scientific
research and industrial development for the benefit of humanity.

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For more information, please contact:

Centre for Minimal Access Surgery
Kyla Szymczyk
Media and Public Relations
Telephone: (905) 522-1155, ext. 3549

Julie Simard
Communications Advisor
Media Relations and Information Services
Canadian Space Agency
Telephone: (450) 926-6651