News : The rise of robotic surgery

Practitioners of 'keyhole' surgery may soon have new tools at their disposal, such as a mechanical 'snake' that enters the body through the mouth or rectum.

A growing number of prostate, heart and gastro-intestinal surgeries are already being performed with the help of robots but Ara Darzi, co-director of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery at Imperial College London says what we see today is just "the tip of the iceberg". However, there is some debate about the cost-effectiveness of robotic surgery in a time when health-care budgets are sure to be under pressure.

Currently, the average selling price of the market leading da Vinci system from California's Intuitive Surgical Inc. is $1.35 million.

Reuters Technology Correspondent Matt Cowan reports.