Present Day Robotic Surgery and Beyond

In today’s time of demand and supply of healthcare needs, organizations must discover or improve services that can meet the needs of patients’ whole at the same time generating revenue as well as achieving high standards for quality of care. One way organizations have done this is by investing in robotic systems to carry out a range of surgeries. In the following presentation I will discuss the topics of: Investing in the MAKO RIO Robotic System, The Utilization of the RIO Robotic System, Stakeholders

robotic assisted surgery, and research. McLaren was the first hospital in the area to perform a

Although robotic assisted surgery has grown worldwide, and particularly in the United States where more than 67% of all da Vinci robots are installed, but as with any disruptive technology it faces some skepticism and challenges.

The 21st century can rightfully be considered as the era of technology when the new inventions and discoveries will most likely affect all the segments of human life. At this point, some of the breakthrough inventions of our times have been in the medical field. Robotic surgery has become an almost common practice in the advanced medical world and new uses for robotic assisted surgery are everyday set in place. However, such developments also attract different interests and implications.

The Da Vinci Surgical System is a large purpose-built robot controlled by a surgeon that performs minimally invasive surgical procedures on patients. The system incorporates an ergonomically designed surgeon 's console, a patient-side module with four interactive robotic arms, each with interchangeable surgical instruments and a 3-dimensional endoscopic vision system. Powered by high-tech supercomputers, the surgeon 's hand movements are scaled, filtered and then converted into precise movements of the surgical attachments. The designers of the system are a team of doctors, engineers and biomedical engineers at a company called Intuitive Surgical.

The Mayo Clinic Staff describes the uses of robotic surgeries by saying, “perform many types of complex procedures with more precision, flexibility and control than is possible with conventional techniques” (“Robotic Surgery”). Gives Doctors more precise control over operations so they would make less mistakes. It also allows them to better help the patients and can cut down on time for tricky procedures. The staff shows the diversity of the machine with “clinical robotic surgical system includes a camera arm and mechanical arms with surgical instruments attached to them” (“Robotic Surgery”). The multiple surgical instruments lets the robotic arms perform many more useful procedures. The multitools also cut down on the amount of other equipment that hospitals need, therefore cutting cost. The Clinic also shows its usefulness to surgeons “The console gives the surgeon a high-definition, magnified, 3-D view of the surgical site” (“Robotic Surgery”). A major problem during surgery is visibility of what is going on inside the body. The high definition field helps the surgeon to see what is going on and allows them to act accordingly. Robotic surgery is the next step to being able to perform more complex procedures

In the next five years, it is estimated that one out of every three surgeries performed in the United States will be performed using a robotic system of some kind (Scott). This may seem like a shockingly high percentage, but since it was first approved in 2000, robotic surgeries have become increasingly popular in today’s society due to the increase in technology. It is important that hospitals consider all the benefits and risks before installing a robotic surgery system.

Originally there were two robotic systems, one was the Zeus System and the other was the Da Vinci System. The Da Vinci system quickly overtook the Zeus system, and the company that developed the Zeus system is now under control Intuitive Surgical Systems. (Fischer, 2012) The Da Vinci System has advanced since its birth, and is more prominent today. This robot has gone through many redesigns to keep up with the changing field of medicine. The Da Vinci robot is able to perform surgeries with the help of a surgeon guiding the robot. This makes surgery easier, efficient, and recovery time is decreased. The robot has revolutionized how surgeries now take place, because they are less intrusive and help patients have a faster recovery time; however, these robots are very expensive for hospitals and the cost to have a surgery using one of these robots differs from one hospital to another. These robots are the future of medicine, and soon the robot will be able to perform all types of surgeries with the help of a surgeon. Currently the Da Vinci System can be used to perform a laparoscopic cholecystectomy, prostatectomy, colectomy, hernia repair, pulmonary lobectomy, cardiac surgeries, gastric bypass, and hysterectomy. These are a significantly greater amount of procedures that can be performed, in comparison to laparoscopy.

In the United States, robot-assisted surgery currently is performed at more than 2000 hospitals. Growth in hospital ownership of robotic systems parallels the increase in the volume of robotic-assisted procedures, which is in excess of 25% annually [1,3]. This growth has been driven by multiple factors: surgeons’ preference, patient attraction to new technology, industry pressures, and marketing efforts of hospitals and surgeons. Doctors and hospitals often promote and advertise robotic surgery, even though their claims of better outcomes and safety [4,5] remain largely unsubstantiated.

Over the last century, technology has been the new baby boom due to electronics and computers. The need for robotic surgery first began in neurosurgery and orthopedic surgery, brain biopsies, and hip replacement were difficult, as many complications would arise during those surgeries. Robotic surgery has been dated back since the 1980’s, and even then robotic surgery was able to make a difference in surgery. In 1985 there was the use of the Puma

What usually comes to mind when one hears the term “robotic surgery”? There are not live robots who operate on a patient. In actuality, the robots do not think by themselves, as they are completely controlled by the surgeon (Herron). These da Vinci Surgical System is starting to become more common in the United States, as it is the only robotic system that has clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (Bush et al. 2). At this modern age, computer-assisted robotic surgery must be used to enhance the overall well- being of the patients and the productivity of a hospital using the capabilities of the da Vinci Surgical System.

The utilization of robots in surgery has only come about inside the past twenty five years. The first use of a robot surgery was in neurosurgery. The limitations stumbled upon with conventional laparoscopy comprise counter-intuitive hand movements, two dimensional visualization, and limited degrees of instrument motion inside the body as well as ergonomic complexity and tremor intensification. In an effort to conquer these impediments, robotics has been lately incorporated into surgery rooms all over (Robotic Gynecologic Surgery, 2012).

Technology is transforming the medical field with the design of robotic devices and multifaceted imaging. Even though these developments have made operations much less invasive, robotic systems have their own disadvantages that prevent them from replacing surgeons all together. Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS) is a broad notion encompassing a lot of common procedures that existed prior to the introduction of robots. It refers to general procedures that keep away from long cuts by entering the body through small, usually about 1cm, entry incisions, through which surgeons use long-handled instruments to operate on tissue inside the body. Such operations are directed by viewing equipment and, therefore, do not automatically need the use of a robot. Yet, it is not incorrect to say that computer-assisted and robotic surgeries are categories that fall under minimally invasive surgery (Robotic Surgery, n.d.).

The main message is clear and compelling: Northwell Health is a leader in robotic surgery, which is a cutting-edge, precise and less invasive procedure. Through advanced robotics, Northwell is able to achieve the seemingly impossible

According to Mary Anne Dunkin’s article Surgery Goes Robotic, the invention of surgical robots was intended for military use only because it would provide a way for doctors to perform safe surgeries within the battlefield. The use of a surgical robot within the military would have allowed doctors to perform emergency surgeries within the battlefield (Childress). The only issue that was detected was the delay that occurs among signals. Unfortunately, “… it turned out that the delicateness of the robot would not lend itself to being out in the deserts of Iraq or the Sudan,” as Dr. Stubbs mentioned to Dunkin. Within Dunkin’s article, she mentions that even though the purpose of surgical robots was for military use only, “robotic technology could play a crucial role in surgeries performed in traditional operating rooms,”(Dunkin). About thirty years ago, the usage of robotics in medical procedures seemed farfetched because one would have never thought that the use of robots in the medical field would become the answer for many surgeons’ problems. For surgeons, the invention of the surgical robot gave them hope for a better future within their profession.