I’m not sure that I would want to be the patient here, but a cardiologist has completed the world’s first remote heart operation at Glenfield Hospital in Leicester, UK. The procedure was done using the Remote Catheter Manipulation System, which was built by New Jersey’s Catheter Robotics.

One of the many challenges faced by surgeons with operations like these is the prolonged exposure to the X-Rays used to monitor the patient, but using this method, the operation can be performed over the Internet from anywhere in the world.

At last you can have your very own Darth Vader robotic arm. It’s good for more than just wielding a lightsaber you know. It can help you grab stuff with it’s opening and closing fingers. Plus you can insert anything you want in it to see what Vader might have looked like while holding it.

Funny stuff, like a bottle of lube, a rubber chicken, a can of Bud, maybe even a hot blond action figure so you can pretend that Vader is King Kong. The kit features 45 snap-together parts that you can use to build it.