Robotic surgery is on the increase and for good reason. Its not just the ability to control movement more precisely but with the ability to create small instruments that are able to achieve the same function as larger more invasive instruments. As this interview with Dr Fernando (a colleague and alum from the Royal Free Hospital) highlights a Thymectomy would typically require a large incision down the front of the chest (Sternotomy) but with the use of Robotic Surgery the same result was achieved with three small incisions the largest being 1cm (less than 1/2″)
<p style=”width:640px”>Robot helps performs surgery in Boston: MyFoxBOSTON.com</p>
You can get a sense from this marketing video for DaVinci Robotic systems
As they point out – 7 degrees of freedom make procedures that would be impossible for a human to perform.
This vide from the University of Maryland demonstrating Cardiac Surgery using Robots
It is probably not lost on readers the similarity that these controls have with our current slew of game controllers and those skills are related. In fact with the advent of the X-Box Kinect system that requires no controllers you have to wonder if we will see concepts that have more in common with the concepts many will remember from Minority Report
Technology enhancing our abilities not replacing them.
