Robotic surgery might seem like a technique more likely to be seen in science fiction than real life, but it’s becoming a reality in Gainesville.Northeast Georgia Medical Center is the first and only hospital in Georgia to regularly perform robotic angioplasty.The robotic device gives physicians more precision and stability while performing the procedure, which opens blocked arteries with a stent or balloon, restoring blood flow to the heart during a heart attack.Since May 2011, the hospital has participated in clinical trials of the device, CorPath 200. The Food and Drug Administration approved the device in July of this year.“It’s remarkable to be the first hospital in the state for this ground-breaking advancement in heart care. And since we were part of the clinical trial for the robotic equipment, we already have more than a year of experience with these procedures,” said Dr. Jeffery Marshall, medical director of Cardiac Catheterization Labs at the medical center.Traditional angioplasty required cardiologists to stand beside the patient on a table and guide their small wires and equipment through the femoral artery in the leg to the heart, a distance of around 110 centimeters.