Surgery Godfather-Chapter 451 - 412 Test
Chapter 451: Chapter 412: Test
Chapter 451: Chapter 412: Test
“Susan, prepare to initiate the remote surgery system, Doctor Yang is about to operate on Steven.”
Collins, more familiar with the communication between Houston and the International Space Station than the Chief Medical Officer who had rushed from Washington, became the de facto coordinator of the operation.
The network communication consisting of three satellites is the only link between the International Space Station and Houston. It is also Steven’s only lifeline.
Susan and David Hollis, who were already on the verge of despair, leaped into action upon hearing the instructions. Regardless of feasibility, this was their only hope.
They had long since secured the remote surgery system. The sterile-packaged robotic arm was protected by a shield. The flat surface that replaced the operating bed was also securely fixed. Steven was firmly restrained on the flat surface with a binding device.
In a microgravity environment, any drift due to weightlessness can be lethal if the human body isn’t adequately secured.
This is the first space surgery in human history, and it’s being performed using a remote surgery system. The International Space Station is well-prepared with equipment and medications, but there aren’t many instances that require a real doctor’s interventions. The last medical incident involved an astronaut developing a left internal jugular vein thrombosis, triggering high levels of anxiety among the ground doctors.
After assessing the condition, doctors first used the space station’s backup anticoagulant, subcutaneous enoxaparin injections. After 43 days, a rocket delivered a batch of orally administered anticoagulants, apixaban, to the International Space Station. The astronaut returned successfully under pharmacological treatment.
But Steven’s condition is entirely different. It’s not something medication can handle. Interventional surgery is necessary.
“Do we need to adjust the station’s posture?” David Hollis became Susan’s only assistant.
Richard is in charge of engineering issues on the station: “Maintain the existing posture, check the station’s air pressure, examine the power system, beware of micro meteorite collisions with the station. If preparations are satisfactory, we’ll begin communication testing.”
The space network relies on a system of tracking and data relay satellites in high orbit, primarily using radio signals for communication with ground antennas. Once the signal is received on the ground, it is transmitted via dedicated lines to various NASA centers. Then, NASA’s computer system converts these signals into readable data. When data is sent back to the International Space Station from Earth, the process is reversed, with a delay of less than 1 second.
A delay of less than 1 second is when the signal is stable. Occasionally, due to various interfering factors, the signal weakens and causes communication delays or interruptions.
Even if the signal is steady, a delay of 1 second could be fatal to such a high-risk surgery.
Not long ago, the International Space Station’s network communication capacity was expanded to six hundred megabits per second, bandwidth that, strictly speaking, still fails to meet the demands of remote surgery.
The four flexible robotic arms, a collaborative research project by NASA, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Intuitive Surgical, are currently the best surgery system in the world. They not only provide exceptional accuracy but also demonstrate excellent flexibility and stability. However, they have a significant flaw: the absence of haptic feedback.
The original intention behind the development of the surgical robot was for NASA to use it for medical treatments for astronauts on the space station. It was later repurposed for civilian use.
Therefore, NASA’s surgical robot is the forerunner of the entire surgical robot industry.
A room at the ground control center in Houston is dedicated to operating the surgical robot on the space station. Jim Basa stationed a large number of security guards to provide security protection. Stern precautions were taken from the entrance, corridors, elevators, stairs to prevent interruptions during surgery.
In addition to the security personnel from Space City, both the Houston Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation sent officers to protect the building. Jim Basa currently had the strongest authority.
The operation room was turned into a safe house, with only Huang Jiacai, Cheng Liquan, John Ansen, and Collins inside. Everyone else stayed outside. Engineers ready to deal with emergencies were also on standby outside of the isolation zone in the room.
Reporters were barred from entering the building. Any reporter who managed to infiltrate could jeopardize the surgery, rendering all efforts futile.
Even amid the onslaught of criticism, Jim Basa ruthlessly blocked all reporters outside Space City in Houston. The entire Space City was under lockdown.
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As soon as the emergency rescue escalated to a national level, Jim Basa received direct authorization from the President. Powerful support was pouring in fast.
Aerospace giants such as Raytheon Technologies, Lockheed Martin, Boeing, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman stood ready to provide support at any time. SpaceX’s Falcon 9 was ready for intensive launches to deliver possible medical supplies or even personnel to the International Space Station.
Private space companies such as Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic also joined the rescue plan, ready to be dispatched.
Symantec was in charge of the security of the communication network between the space station and the ground to prevent disturbing hackers from invading and disrupting the remote surgery operation.
The meteorological department upgraded their meteorological monitoring. They provided weather forecasts at any time, as weather was the most unstable factor interfering with communication.
On the surface, everything was calm, but all the protective forces were in their respective positions. All of this was for the success of this surgery.
Every request from Yang Ping was transformed into a command and then converted into useful resources to support this surgery.
Technically speaking, it was nearly impossible to perform Steven’s remote surgery. No one could operate remote medical equipment to such a degree: freely entering and exiting the brain stem’s blood vessels.
But this Chinese man could do it. He was the only hope. All resources would revolve around him and serve the purpose of achieving the goal.
“Establish communication connection!”
“Begin testing!”
All six hundred terabytes of bandwidth are being used for the surgery, yet due to signal issues, the communication remains unstable.
Yang Ping begins manipulating the four robotic arms, facing the enormous challenge of overcoming random and irregular delays and interruptions.
Network testing reveals that the picture delay makes it impossible to achieve the precision required for surgery.
Can the internet speed and stability be improved? If so, the success rate would be higher.
Yang Ping halts the testing, hoping for faster internet speeds and greater network stability.
Jim Basa and Richard enter the “safe room”. Richard says, “We have two solutions available to us and both can be readily utilized. First is the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS), a military communication system. With the White House’s approval, we can temporarily use it. Secondly, we can use all the satellites of SpaceX’s Starlink project to support this surgery. However, both methods cannot guarantee no delays as there are many unstable factors in space communication.”
Indeed, the communication supported by three satellites at the international space station falls short of the requirement for such high-risk surgery.
If either of these two communication systems could be used, the powerful and stable communication they provide would increase the success rate of the surgery. Even a slight improvement in this phase could make a significant difference.
“The Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) is critical to the U.S. global military and we do not know how much communication capacity can be allocated to us. But utilizing SpaceX’s Starlink satellites would be much more convenient. Their services can be temporarily paused to support our rescue mission.”
Yang Ping ponders, “Whichever method we use, I need a more powerful network connection, and I need it as soon as possible!”
Even without the delay, using a robot to perform such surgery is extremely challenging, fraught with numerous risks. A slight increase in success rate equates to a glimmer of hope.
A single phone call to SpaceX results in immediate support for the rescue mission. The headquarters of the Starlink project begins adjusting the satellite connections, establishing links with NASA’s international space station and Houston to form a surgery-specific network.
Weather conditions can affect the stability of the network. The meteorological monitoring agency incessantly monitors the cloud distribution over Houston. If heavy rain is forecast, cloud dispersion measures can be taken if necessary.
Despite not completely meeting the requirements, the communication issue is resolved to the best extent possible.
Over the years, the international space station has aged and frequently experienced minor issues. Apart from the communication problem, other issues such as power failure and micro-meteorite impacts pose potential risks. The sector built by Japan previously developed a crack, almost killing several astronauts.
Any cause of communication delay or interruption, the patient’s body movement, or a robotic arm malfunction during the procedure of the thrombosis surgery in the brainstem could cause Yang Ping to lose control.
If these issues occur when the catheter, guidewire, or stent are entering the target blood vessel, it would be akin to a sudden power outage during surgery, leaving everything in darkness.
It’s like a racecar driver suddenly going blind. Regardless of how brief this period is or how skilled the driver is, the outcome would be catastrophic.
The communication was tested again and showed significant improvement from the previous test.
“The power system?”
Richard inquires in another room, which is the command center for the rescue mission.
“It’s being checked!”
David Hollis tests the power system nervously, his shaking hands holding the instrument.
Yang Ping sits before the operating console, reacquainting himself with the operation of the robotic arms under the new network environment.
“Someone’s attacking our communication system!”
Symantec’s security team has diffused several dozen attacks and immediately reports to Jim Basa.
“Damn it! Who would attack us at a time like this? We’re trying to save a life!” Jim Basa is very upset.
Richard is also alarmed: “Aren’t we using a dedicated communication link that’s isolated from the external networks?”
The network security expert from Symantec shakes his head: “As long as the equipment has the physical capacity to network, there is no such thing as isolation. Rest assured, these attacks are child’s play. We’ve got them covered.”
Among all the dangerous factors, now there’s an additional one—a hacker attack. Jim Basa is extremely worried as there have been instances of high school students hacking into the Department of Defense’s website in the past.
“Maybe it’s some mischievous middle schoolers. Those troublemakers.” Jim Basa curses.
The network security expert agrees with Jim Basa, “Judging by the attack methods, they are rather immature; it could well be a juvenile prank.”
In the sky 400 kilometers from the ground, the international space station flies overhead at a speed of over 28000 kilometers per hour. Who would have thought that an astronaut onboard is about to undergo surgery?
