The robotic prostatectomy operation will be transmitted from the hospital by fiber optic cable to Singapore, then via satellite to India, where the signal will be fed to a large screen at a medical convention.

The surgery will be viewed by 1,500 physicians wearing special 3-D glasses at the World Congress of Endourology being held in Mumbai.

The operation will be shown as a teaching tool for urologists. It will be the first time ever that an operation has been transmitted across the globe in 3-D. This required developing new transmission standards.

The robotic procedure is a computer-enhanced, minimally invasive surgery that provides many benefits over conventional surgery. Doctors use a robotic arm to perform surgery while looking at an image magnified 35 times.

This improves control over the instruments and increases the ability to identify areas where cancer may have spread. Patients who choose robotic surgery over other options have less pain, fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery, earlier return of urinary control, improved sexual function and less internal scarring.

The special, one-of-a-kind operating room at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan was designed and built with 3-dimensional technology and is enhanced by two 60-inch by 80-inch flat projection screens, advanced lighting, and a data monitoring and intercom system.

The entire surgical team will wear special polarized glasses during surgery. The benefit of everyone seeing in 3-D is that they will all be synchronized.

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