Heart surgeons, as we all know, stop that dastardly heart in order to work on it. Static tissue is easy to perform operations on, even though the process of stopping the heart can lead to brain damage and a bunch of other nonsense. This may be a thing of the past, however!

Some smart Harvard lads and lasses have come up with a robotic system that can compensate for te movements of the heart in real time. Which means, they can fix me ticker without stopping it. Be still my..uh nevermind.

The system uses 3D ultrasound to gather data on the heart’s shape and movements. Custom software, not Vista thank God, then predicts the position of the heart 70 to 100 milliseconds ahead of time. A robotic surgical tool then slides back and forth to compensate, allowing surgery to be conducted as the heart still beats.

The tool is still in development, but it’s shown some promise in animal trials. If you aren’t squeamish, click here for a video of the tool in action.

No word on if the same procedure can work to help me get over my ex-girlfriend.

Perhaps there should be a psychological test before being allowed to purchase electronoc goods.

Case io point: Thomas Martel was having a harder time than most with his iPhone interface, so his brilliant solution was to surgically cut away flesh from his fingers – something known as “whittling”.

"From my old Treo, to my Blackberry, to this new iPhone, I had a hard time hitting the right buttons, and I always lost those little styluses," explains Martel. "Sure, the procedure was expensive, but when I think of all the time I save by being able to use modern handhelds so much faster, I really think the surgery will pay for itself in ten to fifteen years. And what it’s saving me in frustration – that’s priceless."

Perhaps he just should have had his stylus embedded into his hand?

A robot with four small arms will be the newest surgical addition to the Edmonton (Canada) Hospital staff. The robot’s arms are designed to be more flexible than the human wrist so that they can work better in tight spaces. One will have a camera while the other three operate with surgical tools and all are controlled behind the scenes by a trained surgeon.

"If you have the benefits of three dimensions, and then the benefits of these EndoWrists to allow you to manipulate the instruments, then things are going to be easier. It’s going to be easier to teach new trainees how to do this type of surgery."

Starting in September, it will be deployed to treat prostate cancer at Edmonton’s Royal Alexandra Hospital.