Technology And Medicine : Are Robotic Surgeons Better Than Human Surgeons?

As technology improves, surgical robots are rapidly gaining support among both doctors and patients across America. Today more than 900 hospitals have the da Vinci robot which is double the number in 2007. (Freyer, 2010) Da Vinci robots were first approved by the FDA in 2000 for prostate removal, but now da Vinci robots are used for a variety of other surgical procedures (Freyer, 2010). Robot assisted surgery offers advantages such as smaller incisions, reduced blood loss, less pain and faster healing time (Vijay, 2010), as well as making surgery less demanding for the surgeon. Robotic surgery involves many obvious advantages but the impact of cost, access, and quality must

robot assistance. If robotic device can be used in surgeries to improve the outcome of surgeries

Surgery has always conducted by a surgeon and the patient is also co-located in the same room. The surgeon doing the operation with his hands by holding the surgical instruments on his hand. But today, the evolution of robotics in surgical area changes the face of traditional surgery. Today surgeon can sit several feet away from the patient and conduct the operation. Here several robotic arms are mimics the surgeon’s hand. Such systems are now widely available for Minimally Invasive Surgery (MIS).

For the last decade and half, Robotic Assisted surgery has allows patients to benefit from small scars, less pain, and faster recovery. Concurrently, benefiting the surgeons by performing surgeries in a more comfortable position, while taking advantage of greater visualization, enhanced precession, and …

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.

In summary, the Da Vinci Robot system provides a surgeon with a great deal of control, range of motion, fine tissue handling capability and a 3-D viewing system. It also allows the doctor to work through tiny incisions that is characteristic of minimally invasive surgery.

A Massachusetts doctor estimated that the average American will undergo about 5.97 surgical procedures in the operating room in their lifetime, and with the population rising, surgeons in the United States will need to perform more surgeries than ever before (Lee). Since the beginning of modern medicine, new technology has been rapidly introduced to aid surgeons. In 1985, the first robotic surgery occurred, and at the turn of the 21st century, the FDA approved the da Vinci Surgical System (Whitlock). Patients today can undergo robotic-assisted surgery from the da Vinci Surgical System, but this type of surgery remains the center of controversy. Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) is safe, ethical, and a good option for both patients and surgeons because it uses small incisions which decrease blood loss, it can improve recovery time and reduce complications, and it can improve surgical control.

Robot assisted surgeries are the surgical procedures that utilize a robotic system controlled by a physician or the surgeon himself via a computer. The robotic system has an attached camera to help the operator to see the organ being operated. These systems are known for their precision, accuracy, delicacy and efficient controlling options. Since their invention they have been used and are currently used in urological, neurological, endoscopic, cardiovascular and gynecological surgeries and operation. Robot assisted surgeries are in practice since 1990 after the approval of technology by Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Although the history of Robot assisted surgery dates back to 1985 when it was used for the first time.

Robots have not just landed in the workplace, hey are given human like skills, moving up the corporate ladder, displaying intelligence, and increasingly shoving aside the need for humans. Whether it 's the technology that allows scientist to peer deep into the body or medicines that extend the lives of those with chronic diseases, it 's easy to see how advances in health and medicine have touched the lives of nearly every person on the planet, past, present and future. From the first two piece surgical scalpel in 1915 to the laparoscopy surgical system, then to one of the greatest medical breakthroughs: the Da Vinci surgical system (Manjoo). Medical technology and tools have progressed immensely over the years to provide humans and animals with adequate, high end services.

Presently, only two robot systems are cleared by the FDA to assist surgeons the first is the da Vinci Surgical System by Intuitive Surgical. Neil Ogden, chief of the FDA 's General Surgery Devices Branch in the Center for Devices and Radiological Health, states “ [The] da Vinci is cleared to assist in advanced surgical techniques such as cutting and suturing [sewing]." The second system is the ZEUS Robotic Surgical System by Computer Motion, Inc. of Goleta, Calif. While the da Vinci is cleared for cutting and suturing, the ZEUS is only allowed to “assist in grasping, holding, and moving things out of the way” (All About Robotic Surgery. 2014).

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.

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.).

Furthermore, we’ve seen advances in Medical Technology concerning how surgeries are performed in the 21st Century. As computers become more and more integrated into medical procedures, we can start to envision surgical procedures that are done robotically. One of the latest innovations in Robotic Surgery is the Da Vinci Robot Surgery System, from Intuitive Surgical. An article in Newsweek written by Jennifer Barrett entitled “Cutting Edge”, states that “The robotic system has already transformed the field of prostate surgery, for which it was approved in May 2001. That year it was used in less than 1 percent of all prostatectomies. This year more than 20 percent will be done with the

The beginning use of surgical robots within medical setting benefits the surgeon as well as the patient; it gives the da Vinci Surgical System a bright future within today’s society.

With all the tasks that surgical robots perform, patients have to be aware of their many challenges as well as their advantages. U.C Health states that “Robotic surgery offers many benefits to patients compared to open surgery.” This proves that robotic surgery is not just completely full of challenges/disadvantages, it is still beneficial compared to open surgery. Some disadvantages are error and code bugs that can lead to the death of patients. This shows that some robots have disadvantages that could result in something terrible to happen. Some advantages are shorter hospitalization, reduced pain, faster recovery, smaller incisions which reduces risks of infections, reduced blood loss, and minimal scarring. This shows that