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Autonomous surgical robot STAR named top ten finalist in NASA iTech challenge

WASHINGTON – (June 14, 2017) – Children’s National Health System’s proprietary robotic surgical technology Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) has been named one of the top ten finalists in the 2017 NASA iTech call for ideas challenge.

NASA iTech is a collaborative effort to find and foster innovative solutions that not only aim to solve challenges on Earth, but also have the potential to solve some of NASAs challenges for deep space exploration.


The team from the Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation that developed STAR will present the project at the NASA iTech Forum on July 12-13, 2017 at the National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton, VA. At the forum, leaders from NASA and prospective stakeholders will evaluate the 10 finalists and select three top solutions.

“We’re honored to be selected as a finalist in this prestigious challenge,” said Peter C. Kim, MD, vice president and associate surgeon in chief, Sheikh Zayed Institute at Children’s National. “Our technology is capable of many solutions that would be useful as part of NASAs deep space exploration, including intelligent pods capable of common intelligent autonomous surgical procedures.”

A cutting-edge system, STAR was the first to perform a successful
autonomous robotic soft tissue surgery on a live subject in May 2016 and is licensed to Omniboros.

The Sheikh Zayed Institute for Pediatric Surgical Innovation is pursuing the goal of making pediatric surgery more precise, less invasive and pain-free. By combining research and clinical work in the areas of imaging, bioengineering, pain medicine, immunology and personalized medicine, the institute’s physicians and scientists are developing leading-edge knowledge, tools and procedures that will benefit children globally. Learn more at
www.childrensnational.org/innovationinstitute.