Introduction
The goal of creating robots was motivated by the need to create a machine that could perform all the duties that a human being could perform. Initially, most of the robots were majorly for industrial purposes. Today, robots are becoming a comprehensive part of life today. In the recent past, a number of problems have existed due to the use of robotics in medical surgery. There are questions on whether or not this use of robotics should be trusted (Pickover 121). Various administrative bodies and researchers have been perturbed by increasing problems alleged after the use of robotics in surgery. For example, some insist that the use of robotics in medical surgery was so sporadic. One of the doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital insists that “the rapid adoption of robots has been done without proper evaluation” (as cited in Rieland, web). On the other hand, there are also evidences on the vast advantages of using robots in surgery that mask these claims. Therefore, the use of robotics in medical surgery is a promising field, and should be adopted for its role in maintaining health.
Robots have a characteristic of becoming an almost necessary part of every person’s life today. Not only are they found in the electronic sector, these days they are utilized in almost every aspect of daily life. Even in companies, robots are now taking over the jobs that were antecedently occupied by human beings. This can be attributed to the welcoming acceptance robots have been shown by human beings.
Technology is progressively advancing in such a manner that today, innovative robotic systems are being utilized in the medical field. The availability of creative ideas, machinery and better computer operating systems has allowed robots to be used in performing medical surgery. A lot of benefits and problems have been realized since the introduction of robots in medical surgery. Both patients and doctors have realized this. it should be noted that any technological advancement is not devoid of problems, and people are bound to receive it with varied opinions. Despite this, robotic surgery holds a significant promise and is heralded by some in the medical field. This paper will analyze the advantages and disadvantages of using robots in the medical field. This part of the paper will help in answering the research question on how trustworthy the use of robots in medical surgery is. It is also necessary to know the type of robots used in the medical field.
Types of Robots Used In the Medical Field
The types of robots used in the medical field can be categorized into three groups. They include; surgery, rehabilitation and others (medicinal creation, medical industry). Synonymous to their name, rehabilitation robotics are used in the process of rehabilitating patients (Suthakorn 96). For example they are used through physiotherapy, occupational therapy and even speech therapy.
Robotics applied in surgery either performs the surgery by itself or help the surgeon in performing the surgery. Mostly, the robots that perform the surgery on their own are provided with programs depicting the anatomy of various parts of the body. Robots are mostly equipped with super human capabilities. This form of artificial intelligence is what enables the robot to perform those functions. They have a robotic arm meant to perturb the patient in different parts of their bodies. This is what pushes the patient to perform actions even as simple as eating or even perform difficult tasks such as coordinate muscles in the body. Various forms exist having been manufactured by different companies. However, there are those robots which are specifically made for a specific purpose. For example, there are robots that deal with the cardiac system; some are specialized to operate on the bones and others.
Several types of robots are manufactured and they act as an aid to a doctor during performing surgery. Such robots are famously known as the stable hand robot. Here, the tool performing surgery is simultaneously held by both the doctor and the robot (Suthakorn 97). The purpose of the robot in this case is to provide a precise and tremor free control. The doctor is the main controller of the tools used during performing surgery (Beasly 16). Over the years, the results of this precision and control have been realized. In fact, it is argued that these kinds of robots are preferred than the surgery performing ones. Examples of these include; robodoc and Da Vinci among others. They are manufactured by different companies.
Problem Statement
Is the use of robotics in medical surgery trustworthy?
Tanner states that “the high-tech helper is under scrutiny over reports of problems, including several deaths that may be linked with it” (Tanner on the web). This statement is enough to show there are imminent dangers associated with the application of robotics in medical surgery. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is one of the bodies looking into some of these claims. A number of other medical related and health related organizations have also been looking deep into this issue. This survey began early in the year 2010 when the use of medical robotics in surgery was at an all time high.
The survey targeted a number of surgeons using the robotic system especially in America and other parts of the world. A research done on the robot named Da Vinci revealed that there are problems with this robot when it comes to performing surgery (Tanner web). Other robots surveyed in this quest revealed similar problems. For instance, the robodoc robot is known to have had a mechanical failure that made it stick to a piece of body tissue (Kennedy, Hu and Desai 2011). Not only have mistakes been conducted by these robots, but just like any other machine, they have a high capability of malfunctioning. They can also misread instructions.
Doctors compare the time taken for the adoption of medical robot to that taken when developing the industrial robot. The pertinent question still remains on why it took such a short time to develop medical robotics to what it is today. This is probably what has led to some of the problems. All these lead to problems that more and more people now prefer the conventional way of doing surgery. However, researchers claim that these instances are simply coincidental, and they are bound to happen occasionally (Tanner web). The question still remains on whether or not the use of robots in medical surgery is acceptable and safe.
Literature Review
The use of robotics in medical surgery is quite common in developed countries like the United States of America, the United Kingdom and even in Britain. There are a number of reports of people being hurt in the use of robots during surgery. For instance; in early this year, a woman allegedly lost her life during a hysterectomy when a robot nicked a blood vessel (Beasly 17). In the year two thousand and eleven, a woman was also hit by a robotic arm during a hysterectomy and another one had their colon perforated after surgery (Tanner web). “A Chicago man died in 2007 after spleen surgery” (ibid). Several people are also said to have died after undergoing surgery conducted by a robot. All these robots are controlled by another human being.
The head of the Food and Drug administration insists that a number of reports have reached that association. While some claims are unsubstantiated, some have been investigated and found to be true. According to her, at least five deaths have been reported since the year two thousand and eleven (Tanner web). An almost similar number has been reported in the past. This has affected the wider use of medical robotics. For example; in the year two thousand and seven, there were at least three hundred and sixty seven thousand surgeries conducted by robots. Due to the many problems reported, the number was reduced by half in the subsequent year (Beasly 19).
Another survey was conducted by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on how doctors appreciate the use of medical robotics. The questions asked were based on whether they believed that the whole system is secure and trustworthy. The research conducted revealed that initially, the doctors were skeptic on the whole thing. However, with time and reports on the successes of robotics use in surgery, the doctors accepted it. Recently, there have been increasing reports on problems related to the use of robotics on surgery (Beasly 19; Suthakorn 95). Consequently, most doctors are now going back to their conventional systems requiring their action. “The patient safety division urged hospitals to make sure that surgeons are proficient in robotic surgery before allowing them to operate and that doctors carefully screen patients for risk factors” (as cited in Suthakorn 97
Pickover insists that the problems experienced were mostly mechanical (Pickover 123). He states that “any piece of machine is likely to develop problems” (Pickover 123-124). It is the human beings who create these machines. Any failures are as a consequence of a mechanical failure. As expected, robots are machines, they are likely to experience some hitches when performing activities. However, some scholars insist that machines should be made to precision, especially ones meant to perform procedures as precarious as these ones (Sood and Leichtle 127). The problems being encountered by robotics in medical surgery can be gotten rid of quite easily.
Discussion
One of the most common robots used in medical surgery is the one given the epithet Da Vinci Robot (Tanner web). It has been extensively and widely marketed thus the one used in most robotic surgery. Other robots used in the medical field include Amadeus, Trauma Pod and Neuro Arm among others (Sood and Leichtle 102). All these robots are controlled by a doctor while performing these functions. Therefore, a doctor’s work is only lessened, but they still remain significant in performing these functions. Just like in any mechanical device, there was a likelihood of problems occurring in medical robotics used in surgery. The amount of successes was also likely to be reported. As such, despite the existence of problems, medical robotics in surgery is still a promising field. Therefore, people should not only give the use of medical robotics a chance, but also accept it as a perfect way of conducting precarious activities.
Complications are likely to occur with any type of surgery. Information on the existence of problems in medical robotics is still unclear and insufficient (Tanner web). It is still unclear on whether problems in robotic surgery are common than those that occur in conventional surgery. The Food and Drug Administration is still striving to find out whether the claims on robotic surgery are worth shutting down the project. It seems that the claims are intuitive. During the beginning of the robotics in medical field project, very few journalists and scholars were interested. However, as the project exceeded, so did the interest. Consequently, a lot of problems surfaced and the number of problems seemed to be increasing. Mechanical failure or death related to mechanical robotics is not increasing; it is the reports that are increasing (Beasly 23). For example; by the year two thousand and eight, few journalists were interested in robotic surgery in the medical field. Interest has increased over the consecutive years making most of the media to report on the same.
Ideally, there are a number of reasons why robotic surgery should be trusted. First, the claims on their advantages seem to be unfounded. For example; Riendel concludes that “there is no overall difference in complication after surgery” (Riendel web). This can be found by exploring the advantages of robotic surgery. The company producers of some of these robots claim that, just like any technology, the use and manufacture of robots in surgery is improving over time. In fact, most of the robots have total success of over one and a half million successful surgeries (Sood and Leichtle 89). For example; the Da Vinci system has an excellent safety record with a lot of surgeries performed globally (Tanner web). “The Da Vinci robot has performed thousands of successful surgeries” (Tanner web). For most of the robots, the problem is either due to a malfunction or mechanical failure. These adverse event rates remain low. They are also not increasing and are parallel to historical trends.
Before any new form of technology is taken to the market, extensive research is conducted by scholars from various subjects. This is what happened during the introduction of medical robotics in surgery. In fact, in this case, a lot of research was conducted keeping in mind that it dealt with a precarious situation like health (Kennedy, Hu and Desai 2109). It even involved simple evaluations such as environmental impact assessments. As such, the claim that extensive research was not done is unfounded and untrue.
The safety of all of these robots is precise. It gives the doctor a clearer view than the normal surgery. The view is usually in three dimensional, and the doctor can be able to even identify other problems (Satava 75). The robot is also capable of performing the surgery for a shorter period of time than the usual human being. For example; the Da Vinci system has three or four arms. The surgeons operate those hands using hand controls. This is done using a computer system that is several feet away from the patient. Therefore, not only are these robots efficient, they also give a clearer view into the patient’s body making the surgical procedure precise.
Sterility is one of the requirements of any surgical procedure. A lot of bacteria in the surgical room are brought by the human beings; nurses and doctors (Satava 182). Robots are extensively used in this manner as “Doctors in a Baltimore hospital have taken on robots to take on the super bugs” (Riendel web). One of the ways of acquiring this sterility is by reducing human presence in the surgical room. This has been successful through the use of robotics in surgery. It is estimated that about sixty seven percent of bacteria have been reduced using this means (Beasly 20; Satava 181). As such, robotics in medical surgery is worth the effort.
When placed in a cost benefit ledger, medical robotics is worth the effort. About one thousand four hundred hospitals in the United States of America own at least one Da Vinci robot system. Each one of these robots cost about one and a half million American dollars (Kennedy, Hu and Desai 2013). They serve about one hundred thousand patients in a year. A doctor will only perform half of the same amount of job in the same time (Tanner web). As such, more patients are served in a shorter period of time and the machine is worth the cost.
The availability of medical robotics in surgery does not imply the absenteeism of the doctor. The doctor will always be present in case a problem arises. The doctor is required to be present at all times. As such, in case a mechanical malfunction occurs, the doctor can take over from the robot. Furthermore, the availability of robots does not rule out the conventional method of conducting surgery. Patients still have the mandate of choosing who and how the surgery will be conducted. Consequently, medical robotics in surgery are to be trusted.
Some regions in the body require a lot of precision when it comes to surgery. Some places are also hard to reach owing to the human anatomy. Research conducted by Kennedy, Hu and Tang (2198) reveal that it is better to use the robots than human doctors. Some surgeons also insist that the robotic method has advantages when it comes to weight-loss surgery. This is especially true when it comes to extremely obese patients. This is because of the girth that can make conventional hand surgery a little complicated.
A famous doctor in John Hopkins Hospital was the first to perform experiments on the success of robotic surgery on some patients. For instance; in the year two thousand and eight, a study on the effectiveness of robotic surgery on obese patients was conducted (Beasly 19). At the same time, a similar study was conducted on patients who need kidney transplants. The study is still being conducted, but the results are vouching for robotic surgery. In some cases, dual surgeries on the same have been conducted successfully (Beasly 21). Therefore, robotics in surgeries is convincingly safe and trustworthy.
Conclusion
The use of medical robotics in surgery is at an all time high. However, this field is faced with a lot of problems. There have been reports that there is an increase in deaths resulting from surgery conducted by robots. Also, various malfunctions have occurred during the conducting of surgery by robots. Scholars in some of these fields insist that these problems are simply as a result of renewed interest in the field. Also, machines are meant to have problems. They also insist that extensive research has been conducted in that field. As such the use of robots in conducting surgery is quite safe. Many people are using this method mainly for the advantages it has over the conventional method. First, it is efficient and fast owing to the fact that a computer contains artificial intelligence. A computer is capable of performing dual surgery, something that human beings are incapable of performing. Also, the amount of work done by a robot is twice the much done by a human being. Consequently, robotics in medical surgery is safe and should be adopted without any fear. Despite the few hitches in the use of robots in the medical field, the field seems quite promising. Change is an inevitable part of society but it is bound to be received by a lot of resistance. Therefore, the problems being experienced currently are only but normal. In fact, many doctors claim that they would be worried if such a big thing was not faced with a little resistance.
Works Cited
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Video accessed June 9, 2013 from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mR-PC8kCi_A
Pickover, Clifford. The medical book. New York: Barnes and Noble Publishers, 2004. Print.
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