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Robodoctors and Nurses Will Replace the "Human Touch" The da Vinci Surgical System	By Anca Rusu, Technology Editor 8th of May 2006, 09:15 GMT Adjust text size:


As technology penetrated into medical service long time ago, by usage of several medical robots in hospitals based all around the world, the project being part of a new approach - the da Vinci Surgical System - approved for use by the U.S. government in 2000, the future of robotized surgery and nursing is not seen anymore as a thing of the future, informs CNN Online. But these complex systems still necessitate human assistance, as they are not autonomous, only the conventional surgical tools are already being replaced by robotic instruments, the new procedure being called "teleoperation". In the future, surgery will look very different, as the team of doctors and nurses might be replaced by a team of robots, the latter removing the "human error". "It's easy to imagine a future where, if I need a medical specialist from afar [a robot] could remotely become his or her 'eyes, hands, and ears'," says Joanne Pransky, an expert in robot psychiatry. For now, the robots are just an extension of a doctor's skills, allowing him to perform better by helping improve control and precision. The manufacturers are hoping that they will be able soon to perform major operations such as heart surgery, using nanotech tools as microscopic robots, thus reducing the exhaustion of long procedures. "Due to the nursing labor shortage today combined with the ever-increasing aging population, robots could easily fill the lack of human assistance and facilities currently available," says Pransky. "Most of us would rather be attended to in a hospital by a robot than be ignored, and given the choice to stay in our own homes with a nursebot or go to a nursing home, a robot would allow us to continue to live independently as well as offer a more cost-effective alternative." However, doctors will have to overcome the patients' psychological barriers. "Robotic-assisted surgery does make people apprehensive," says Dr. Ara Darzi. "But it's only a sophisticated tool and you have to explain that the procedures are less-invasive and more accurate than current systems."

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