Doc bot preps for the O.R.

INSIDE THE GLISTENING RED CAVE of the patient's abdomen, surgeon Michael Stifelman carefully guides two robotic arms to tie knots in a piece of thread. He manipulates a third arm to drive a suturing needle through the fleshy mass of the patient's kidney, stitching together the hole where a tumor used to be. The final arm holds the endoscope that streams visuals to Stifelman's display screens. Each arm enters the body through a tiny incision about 5 millimeters wide.