007 lent a hand

The next James Bond film, Die Another Day , due for release on November 22, will feature high-tech surgical instruments from Imperial College, London.

The college lent the film producers its Da Vinci machine, a pioneering system that uses robotic arms to carry out keyhole surgery. Controlled by surgeons using a joystick, it is the robotic hands that make the incisions, eliminating the natural tremor in a surgeon's hand.

Da Vinci's three independent arms will be shown scanning Bond's body and taking a blood sample.

Ara Darzi, head of surgical oncology and technology and head of the Da Vinci project, told reporters: "Surgeons and spies are alike, as both aspire to serve their subjects with minimal fuss while using the best technologies around."