Imagine the chest as a sealed box with the lungs inside, gently inflating and deflating with every breath. But after a serious injury—like a stabbing or gunshot—air can leak into that box from outside the lungs.
This air has nowhere to go. It builds up, pushing harder with each breath. One lung gets squeezed, then the heart and the large blood vessels. The person’s pulse races, blood pressure drops, and if nothing is done fast, it can be fatal.
This condition is called tension pneumothorax. If left untreated, the condition leads to death within minutes. It’s a medical emergency, but surprisingly simple to treat. Doctors can relieve the pressure by inserting a needle into the chest, letting the trapped air escape—like opening a valve on an overinflated balloon.
A team at the Technical University of Munich has created a high-tech robotic tool designed to step in during critical moments, like when someone’s lung fails. The device is an advanced robot arm extension that combines a long, thin medical needle with an ultrasound scanner.
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Here’s how it works:
After an injury, air can get trapped in the chest cavity, putting dangerous pressure on the lungs and heart. This robotic system can detect that pressure buildup—known as a pneumothorax—and treat it. It finds the exact right spot between the ribs (known as the Monaldi or Bülau positions) using ultrasound and precisely inserts a needle to release the trapped air.
In moments where every second counts—like after a serious chest injury from a crash or gunshot—air trapped in the chest can become deadly. That’s where a new robotic system from researchers at the Technical University of Munich steps in.
This system, part of the multinational iMEDCAP research project, uses a robotic arm equipped with a needle and catheter to treat a life-threatening condition called tension pneumothorax. Once it finds the right spot on the chest using ultrasound, the mechanism pushes the needle through the skin. The needle is then pulled back, leaving behind the catheter as a tiny escape hatch for trapped air, relieving pressure, restoring breath, and buying precious time.
But the innovation doesn’t stop on the ground. Shortly, this technology will take to the skies aboard the Avilus Grille drone—a remotely controlled aircraft fitted with robotic arms and guided by doctors. The goal: deliver emergency care to patients mid-flight, while evacuating them from danger zones and crisis areas.
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With 24 organizations across nine countries contributing to this ambitious vision, the future of battlefield and disaster-zone medicine may no longer be bound by gravity.
Researchers are going to present their robotic system at the Automatica Robotics trade fair.
