Robotic surgery is becoming more and more common in the
medical field. This is because the machines are more precise and flexible than
the human hand. Robotic surgery reduces chance of infection, decreases recovery
time, and is less invasive, leaving the patient with much less scarring and
discomfort.
The robots function with the da Vinci Surgical System, which provides
a magnified vision system and gives surgeons a 3D, HD, 360-degree view inside
of the patient’s body; a view that they wouldn’t be able to get with the naked
eye. It allows the surgeon’s hand movements to be translated into smaller, more
precise motions controlling the small surgical instruments inside the body. One
of these instruments is a camera with a light on the end, which sends the image
to a video monitor in the operating room. The camera and other mechanical arms with
dime-sized tools are controlled by the surgeon at a computer console next to
the operating table. They control the tools with hand and foot controls that
move the robotic arms attached to the surgical instruments, while another
surgeon is at the operating table to ensure the correct placement of the
instruments. The robotic arms are much more steady, and are able to reach
places a human head wouldn’t.
These two videos show a surgical robot peeling a grape and then stitching it back together! Such precision! How cool that computer science helped make robots that are better at doing surgery than we are!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XdC1HUp-rU
References:
http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/robotic-surgery/basics/definition/prc-20013988
When we see new implementations like that in science, we know that we're working for a better future everyday.The huge intersection between computer science is very vital to empower the medical systems especially when it comes to surgeries and the way it functions is fascinating and it made me think of how can we even improve that ?maybe better sensors and smarter robots ?Thanks for such an incredible article !
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