Surgeons’ Hall begins redevelopment of new high tech ‘Body Voyager’ gallery

Redevelopment construction work has begun on one of Scotland’s oldest museums, Surgeons’ Hall to introduce the ‘Body Voyager’ which will see the transformation of two connecting rooms formerly used as office space into two high tech galleries that will be completely unique to the UK.

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Currently the galleries at Surgeons’ Hall chart the history of surgery from 1505.

The new Body Voyager will explore the rise in computerised and robotic technology in medicine throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

Currently the galleries at Surgeons’ Hall, one of the oldest museums in Scotland, chart the history of surgery from 1505. Body Voyager will explore the rise in computerised and robotic technology in medicine throughout the 20th and 21st centuries.

The project has been in development for a couple of years and was due to open in September 2020 however, it was put on hold due to the pandemic.

The new gallery will be split into four different zones: an introduction, the head, the torso and the limbs.

Each area will look at the extent to which robotics has been introduced into certain procedures already and how this equipment has evolved in recent years.

The galleries will incorporate a high level of interactive computer technology, working surgical instruments, human specimens and AV presentations to create an immersive experience.

It will take visitors on a journey through the human body exploring the way in which modern technology is changing the course of modern surgery and patient care.

The galleries have been designed by Campbell and Co and work will be carried out by Glasgow based Elmwood Projects.

Surgeons’ Hall have been working with a number of surgical companies including Intuitive Surgical Inc, Freehand Surgical and Bbraun to showcase some equipment used by surgeons, from the first pieces of robotic equipment used in the operating theatre to some of the most up to date, high tech instruments in use today.

Visitors will take an immersive journey through the human body in a new virtual reality experience.

The galleries will pose many questions for visitors to consider such as - will technology improve patient safety? Would you like to be operated on by a robot? Will the surgeon of the future be a data programmer? Will these changes ever replace the surgeon?

The museum has also been working with Edinburgh based hyper-realist artist Inês-Hermione Mulford who has been creating original artwork to humanise the patient-surgeon-robot relationship.

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