Autonomous Surgery Robot Developed!

[2021Doctor]

AUTONOMOUS ROBOT PERFORMS SUCCESSFUL SURGERY ON LIVING PIG
A STAR SURGEON
By Claire Maldarelli

In recent years, robots have steadily crept their way into the operating room, helping to perform procedures as humans direct their movements. Robotic devices in surgery have a lot of potential benefits; they can help reduce error rates and increase the efficiency of the surgeries. But developing a robotic device that can perform the surgery completely on its own has been challenging, especially for surgeries that involve soft tissue, where the dexterity of the surgeon’s hands are vital.
Now, a group of researchers at The Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C. have developed a device that they say is able to perform these surgeries without the constant watch and manipulation of a surgeon. Their work was published today in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
......
In the paper, the researchers report that 60 percent of the surgeries were performed completely autonomously, meaning the physicians provided no help during the procedure. For the other 40 percent, the researchers made adjustments to the robot during the surgery. However, they note that these adjustments were very minor and think the device could be autonomous 100 percent of the time.

http://www.popsci.com/new-robotic-surgery-tool-outperformed-human-surgeons

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[Petrichor1]

if you knew how many times these "so-called" high technology equipments acted out, you wouldn't be too worried. But yes, as we are being further governed by hospital administrators that are more attracted with business model, you will certainly see such things arrive at the hospital and make medicine more complicated (or more superficial and base for those who enter). I'm sure that some specialties will be more affected than others. This does not just limit to the OR.

 

[Lawpy]

Regarding the poll question, unless the robots develop superintelligence that makes them far smarter than the brightest of human minds, i don't see them replacing surgeons (or any physician for that matter) any time soon. And i'm not sure whether robots can develop compassion and empathy that are necessary for good doctoring.

I could see robots replacing midlevels and technicians though.

 

[Petrichor1]

I could see robots replacing midlevels and technicians though.

Still not going to happen. There are too many human components that the machine cannot and should not at all cost be left unattended or supervised with just one person in charge. A machine that makes no errors and fixes itself up will cost administration an atrocious amount of money (already even simple machines cost ridiculous amounts) and enough so that they will rather prefer people. Additionally, when you go to low population areas, the demand for such high technology is minimally required to pull down cost.

 

[MikeyDub]

I feel as if doctors would be one of the last professions to be replaced by robots. Not saying it won't happen, but most other jobs seem like they'd be easier to be replaced by robots.

 

[Dr.Sticks]

Is it ethical for robots to replace humans though?
I can see surgery becoming more minimally invasive, but until we master AI doctors will remain.

 

[laughingfrog]

I think people who say that medicine will never see computers take over are underestimating the capabilities of computers and AI. People might point to how EKG machines interpret rhythms incorrectly quite often but just wait and see. Machine learning has expanded in ways that I cannot even understand. Anyone with some interest in this should read I, Robot by asimov.

 

[Dr.Sticks]

I think people who say that medicine will never see computers take over are underestimating the capabilities of computers and AI. People might point to how EKG machines interpret rhythms incorrectly quite often but just wait and see. Machine learning has expanded in ways that I cannot even understand. Anyone with some interest in this should read I, Robot by asimov.

A robot isn't going to get on a plane go salvage an organ from a donor, fly back, and then do the organ transplant.. Nor will a team of robots
A robot isn't going to rush down to do a consult for a patient with a head injury, order tests, evaluate for brain bleed, and then get ready to operate.
A.I is nowhere near the level of function that a surgeon is at.
Robots will be used to aid surgeons to improve accuracy(already do), but I don't ever see them doing surgery on autopilot

 

[laughingfrog]

your post is just laughable.. who cares whether a robot needs to get on a plane or not, they can have robots at the donor site and recipient site. it also doesnt need to rush down if the rooms all have them. you are just harping on infrastructure / logistics questions. and if you dont think that evaluating for a brain bleed can be done by a computer then you prove my point of underestimating computer capabilities.

 

[Dr.Sticks]

your post is just laughable.. who cares whether a robot needs to get on a plane or not, they can have robots at the donor site and recipient site. it also doesnt need to rush down if the rooms all have them. you are just harping on infrastructure / logistics questions. and if you dont think that evaluating for a brain bleed can be done by a computer then you prove my point of underestimating computer capabilities.

Well from my very basic knowledge of it, it is done via a computer.. just not the surgical part
Look I understand computers/tech, and it's really not feasible for robots to take over.
Assist in surgery, yes.. they already do..

 

[Giovanotto]

Of course they will. Then you just stick a liability spunge in there aka surgical tech and, voila.

 

[kamakazi5]

This is a pretty interesting video. It only touches briefly on medicine but still worth a watch I think.

 

[JustAPhD]

The question isn't if/should robots perform autonomously now, it's if they ever will. For that I think it's just a matter of time and technology. People can make the argument that the population would never trust a robot. Well, people already are starting to trust "robots" with their lives when they ride in self-driving cars.



I for one embrace our new robot overlords.

 

[Azete]

When I worked in finance, there was a collective agreement that we couldn't be replaced by robots -- that they couldn't develop our intuition and too many mistakes would be made. Fast forward to today, 400 of us got replaced by one $40 million supercomputer and now I'm in med school.

 

[terra330]

I think it'll happen some day. They'll start with simpler procedures under the supervision of surgeons. Eventually they'll start doing complex procedures that humans are generally incapable of doing.

What's harder to predict is how long it will take. It's probably safe to assume we'd see it replacing veterinary surgeons about 10 years before they start autonomously doing human surgeries.

 

[Mansamusa]

But who would the lawyers sue?

 

[JustAPhD]

But who would the lawyers sue?

The robot lawyers would sue the robot surgeons.

I think it'll happen some day. They'll start with simpler procedures under the supervision of surgeons. Eventually they'll start doing complex procedures that humans are generally incapable of doing.

What's harder to predict is how long it will take. It's probably safe to assume we'd see it replacing veterinary surgeons about 10 years before they start autonomously doing human surgeries.

Interesting thought. I would be curious to see if vet surgery -with its great deal of variety between "patients"- would ever justify the most-likely high cost for such a robotic surgeon.

 

[terra330]

The robot lawyers would sue the robot surgeons.



Interesting thought. I would be curious to see if vet surgery -with its great deal of variety between "patients"- would ever justify the most-likely high cost for such a robotic surgeon.

My understanding is that a lot of newer techniques and technologies find their way to veterinary medicine first since the FDA isn't really an issue in that realm.

 

[Holmwood]

Hey, "drilling and filling" is getting replaced by lasers in dental.

I'm not surprised.

 

[Mansamusa]

http://www.kevinmd.com/blog/2016/04...alth-care-hacks-will-be-felt-for-decades.html

This is relevant

 

[Petrichor1]

if robots became so complex that they were to decipher the anatomy of various different individuals without the interference of surgeons, I believe that there would be a lot of other professions within healthcare and outside of it that will be quick to raise their voice before any physician does. foodforthought.

 

[Lucca]

if robots became so complex that they were to decipher the anatomy of various different individuals without the interference of surgeons, I believe that there would be a lot of other professions within healthcare and outside of it that will be quick to raise their voice before any physician does. foodforthought.

What do you mean?

In theory, humans are just machines. There is no reason to believe otherwise. There is no question that the mechanical and technical functions of a physician can and will be automated in the future. Morality, socialization, language, and ethics are all, when boiled down to the essence, consequences of this machinery and humans are comically bad at just about everything when compared to a computer able to satisfy the demands of a similar task. The good news, I think, is that physicians and surgeons will be some of the last human jobs to go in the distant hypothetical future but the bad news is that society will have to somehow survive a world where 70% of humans are literally unemployable.

 

[laughingfrog]

What do you mean?

In theory, humans are just machines. There is no reason to believe otherwise. There is no question that the mechanical and technical functions of a physician can and will be automated in the future. Morality, socialization, language, and ethics are all, when boiled down to the essence, consequences of this machinery and humans are comically bad at just about everything when compared to a computer able to satisfy the demands of a similar task. The good news, I think, is that physicians and surgeons will be some of the last human jobs to go in the distant hypothetical future but the bad news is that society will have to somehow survive a world where 70% of humans are literally unemployable.

thats why there is talk about basic minimum income broski. Idiocracy and Wall-E is closer than peeps think

 

[Lucca]

thats why there is talk about basic minimum income broski. Idiocracy and Wall-E is closer than peeps think

Well yah it's the only solution that makes sense but it doesn't make sense in the current structure of society which is based on markets, trading and labor. I have more faith in people just letting the poor kill and eat each other than making a rational attempt at radically reorganizing society but I'm holding out hope.

 

[laughingfrog]

they wont be killed off. our world is a consumerist one and the poor and dumb are always needed in order to stay in debt and keep money flowing.

 

[Lannister]

The thought of living in a world where everything is done by robots genuinely scares me. Like what would even be the point of life if you literally had nothing to do because robots could do everything for you?

 

[ProspectiveKidd]

The thought of living in a world where everything is done by robots genuinely scares me. Like what would even be the point of life if you literally had nothing to do because robots could do everything for you?

Right now its at the point where they make life easier and safer for everyone, but theres a point when they will ruin everything and everyone. Its inevitable.

 

[Petrichor1]

What do you mean?

In theory, humans are just machines. There is no reason to believe otherwise. There is no question that the mechanical and technical functions of a physician can and will be automated in the future. Morality, socialization, language, and ethics are all, when boiled down to the essence, consequences of this machinery and humans are comically bad at just about everything when compared to a computer able to satisfy the demands of a similar task. The good news, I think, is that physicians and surgeons will be some of the last human jobs to go in the distant hypothetical future but the bad news is that society will have to somehow survive a world where 70% of humans are literally unemployable.

We may be machines but unlike them we have too complex of chemistry and structure involved. If you look at normal accepted values from hospital to hospital (let alone region to region) for different tests done on patients, they all differ. Now imagine someone who has moved from out of the country to a place where they aren't used to treating that type of patient and history. Surgery on a candidate even from same region and origin can be quiet interesting when you wonder how will an "autonomous" robot be able to define organ parameters and certain other physiological differences that may deem to be normal for one candidate but abnormal for another. As we all know, the programmer of that robot is how much the robot will eventually know at the end of the day and a very vast amount of detail knowledge will have to be known for something of this caliber to work independently. One day I hope that machines become better at some and all aspects of human introspection but having worked with million dollar equipment before, I can say that it is still a very long ways before we get to that point.

If we have machines as perfect as the ones in healthcare as we suppose in this argument it would be far easier to put such meticulous systems in other arenas of the job world besides medicine. Due to policy and overwhelming paperwork that these machines will have to sit through before hitting the healthcare industry, there is a high likelihood that their flawless systems would be put in less stringent settings where especially those whose skills can be replaced with a robot will be the first to become jobless. We would probably have an uproar from this and perhaps a much needed reform on the capacity, applicability, and economics of the inclusion of said robotic technology. Of course, no one has really cared for this as history repeats itself and while many may argue that we may be able to shift towards higher order of thinking in our jobs with the robot replacing repetitive tasks, we will be essentially mechanics dealing with a robotic machine treating a biological machine as you place it.

I hope this wasn't too much rambling on my part and I am sure that my thought process in writing such a silly and fictional comment isn't something you need to worry about.

 

[Lannister]

Right now its at the point where they make life easier and safer for everyone, but theres a point when they will ruin everything and everyone. Its inevitable.

It's gonna be like Battlestar Galactica, man. If that s*** ever happens, I hope I'm killed in the initial invasion.

 

[Crayola227]

why is there a human hand in the pic that goes with the article? not video of the actual machine at work?

looks like the thing was just suturing if it is the robot

 

[Lucca]

We may be machines but unlike them we have too complex of chemistry and structure involved. If you look at normal accepted values from hospital to hospital (let alone region to region) for different tests done on patients, they all differ. Now imagine someone who has moved from out of the country to a place where they aren't used to treating that type of patient and history. Surgery on a candidate even from same region and origin can be quiet interesting when you wonder how will an "autonomous" robot be able to define organ parameters and certain other physiological differences that may deem to be normal for one candidate but abnormal for another. As we all know, the programmer of that robot is how much the robot will eventually know at the end of the day and a very vast amount of detail knowledge will have to be known for something of this caliber to work independently. One day I hope that machines become better at some and all aspects of human introspection but having worked with million dollar equipment before, I can say that it is still a very long ways before we get to that point.

If we have machines as perfect as the ones in healthcare as we suppose in this argument it would be far easier to put such meticulous systems in other arenas of the job world besides medicine. Due to policy and overwhelming paperwork that these machines will have to sit through before hitting the healthcare industry, there is a high likelihood that their flawless systems would be put in less stringent settings where especially those whose skills can be replaced with a robot will be the first to become jobless. We would probably have an uproar from this and perhaps a much needed reform on the capacity, applicability, and economics of the inclusion of said robotic technology. Of course, no one has really cared for this as history repeats itself and while many may argue that we may be able to shift towards higher order of thinking in our jobs with the robot replacing repetitive tasks, we will be essentially mechanics dealing with a robotic machine treating a biological machine as you place it.

I hope this wasn't too much rambling on my part and I am sure that my thought process in writing such a silly and fictional comment isn't something you need to worry about.

I work with our supercomputing facility and professionals regularly, I am aware of the limitations of machinery and automation present today.

Doesn't mean that it's not a matter of time before most jobs are done by machines. Even if surgeons and physicians survive the initial wave of unemployment for several decades, it doesn't mean they won't be around to suffer through however the hell we are going to deal with having a third of the country or more without jobs.

 

[Petrichor1]

I work with our supercomputing facility and professionals regularly, I am aware of the limitations of machinery and automation present today.

Doesn't mean that it's not a matter of time before most jobs are done by machines. Even if surgeons and physicians survive the initial wave of unemployment for several decades, it doesn't mean they won't be around to suffer through however the hell we are going to deal with having a third of the country or more without jobs.

I believe they already are. I had the chance of speaking with some fellows in training and many of them have said that every 6 months there is a new technology that they need to learn, especially if you work at a hospital that is enamoured with these things. Not to mention that the whole of healthcare goes through software overhauls every one in a while. The jobs with the more inclusion of computers will definitely become more technical rather than critical.