Medical Robot, MD

Robots performing surgery is not a science fiction movie in which "robodocs" begin to reprogram themselves, try to take over the world and everybody is eventually saved by Will Smith. Robotic medicine is a growing industry that helps physicians get through long hours of surgery or minimize their exposure to potentially harmful X-rays.

It was only a generation ago when the medical community argued over the role of robots in medicine. Today robotic technology is an expanding $1 billion dollar business. Dr. Frederic H. Moll founded one of the leading companies in robotic medicine, Intuitive Surgical. He is also involved with three other companies. Moll's interest in robotics started in the 1980s as a surgical resident. It was then that he became interested in surgical instruments and their limitations.

Dr. Moll stated, "I was struck by the size of the incision and injury created just to get inside the body...It felt antiquated." Many leaders in the industry are developing robotic devices to replace archaic methods with less invasive and more precise modern technology. The robotic medical industry's contributions have certainly gotten the attention of Wall Street. Many hospitals that can afford this cutting-edge technology have incorporated the use of robotics in their operating rooms. There are many areas of medicine that use robots from cardiology to urology. Here is an overview of various ways robots are used in medicine:

The Drill That Knows
Mako is a robotics manufacturer of a drill that is used by orthopedic surgeons and has the technology to shut off automatically when too much bone is being removed.

The da Vinci Without the Code
Intuitive's da Vinci robots assist urologist in the operating room by handling scalpels and suturing needles through small incisions. The da Vinci series is now being marketed to gynecologists and heart surgeons.

Under the Guide of a Sensei
Hansen Medical under the direction of Dr. Moll is researching the use of Sensei robots that can manipulate the tips of thin, flexible catheters that doctors can insert deep in the heart. This robotics system may be the next best thing in treating cardiovascular disease. Also, Sensei-like tools are being studied in India that use a flexible robotic catheter to remove kidney stones.

Cut-Free Surgery
Scarless therapy is another area being explored by the medical robotic industry. Usually doctors enter the circulatory system by making a small incision in major veins that run through the thigh or arm. Robotic companies are looking at alternative entry points for operations that can be performed through natural openings such as the urinary tract.

Blasting Tumors With Accuracy
Accuray is the maker of CyberKnife which is a precision radiation robot used to treat tumors using image guided technology.

Navigating Magnetic Catheters
Stereotaxis a St. Louis based company manufactures the Niobe robot which can create magnetic fields around patients. Doctors control movements inside the patient with a user-friendly computer to help navigate the fields via a magnetic catheter.

Top-Notch Robotics in Far Away Places
Medical research of robots is focused on long-distance surgery through satellites. Dr. Richard M. Satva, one of robotic medicine's early visionaries, financed a project to provide medical robots in remote military locations. This idea caught Dr. Moll's attention and now Intuitive Surgical among others are focusing on long-distance surgery.

While medical robotic companies are on the rise there are many critics. Many health care providers and insurers are skeptics that prefer to wait it out in hopes of more research-based evidence that robotic technology helps patients.

With a whopping $1.3 million per da Vinci robot, hospitals are absorbing costs in hopes of attracting top surgeons or promising residents who want to become leaders in revolutionary research. Wall Street's growing interest in medical robots has opponents of the idea wondering if this has more to do about marketing and money than the progression of medicine. Winifred Hayes, chief executive of Hayes Inc., a health care technology consulting firm, doesn't believe that the clinical information supports that patients are doing better with the help of robots. Hayes believes that hospitals and clinics are taking a risk spending so much on robotic equipment that has little or no return. While using robots in surgery has its pluses, hospitals are finding it difficult getting extra reimbursement from insurers for using the equipment.

Despite the skepticism, the medical robotics industry is on the rise and more doctors are opting to use the precision and technology of a tremor-free movement robot in surgical procedures. The advantages include cutting down the amount of time a patient is under anesthesia, minimally invasive procedures and faster recovery for patients.

Source: Prepping Robots to Perform Surgery