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I work in the medical device industry and one major dynamic that's improving surgical capabilities for aging surgeons is the increase in surgical robots. I was

by zomg 7y ago

I work in the medical device industry and one major dynamic that's improving surgical capabilities for aging surgeons is the increase in surgical robots. I was in a lab testing a new product on the da Vinci Robot and one of the surgeons commented to me that "this robot will add another 10 years to my career" -- he was probably in his early 60's already! It will be very interesting to see how robotic technology changes surgical outcomes as robotic surgery becomes the standard of care.

godzillabrennus 7y ago
Agree. Robotics hasn’t even really penetrated the market for treatment or diagnostics yet. There are many opportunities.
- swiley 7y ago
  I'm really not sure it will any time soon. I think robot enthusiasts sometimes underestimate what hands attached to a brain full of knowledge really are capable of. There's a problem software developers have to solve if they really want robots to be a full replacement for a human physically performing a task and that's a way for the trained humans to communicate their knowledge to the robot. The problem with this is that most people really aren't great at communicating precisely. They have a hard time teaching each other and are often hopeless when it comes to giving precise and complete instructions for something to a robot. forget complex tasks like surgery even gardening and washing dishes is hard. Even something as simple as "grab the thing" is a pretty big project. Maybe in the future as robots become more common speaking with the level of precision required will also become common (kind of like what happened to culture with the web and email.)
  - philips 7y ago
    I think you are thinking of robotics in the sense of replacing surgeons or being an autonomous partner. While OP is talking of robotics as an assitive tool to help a surgeon make finer or less invasive movements.
- canada_dry 7y ago
  I'd really like to see robotic (light's out) pharmacies become a thing. Removing the extremely expensive Pharmacist from simply counting pills for things like repeats of common medications. This would surely reduce consumer costs with little/zero risk.
  - copperx 7y ago
    The idea of having a pharmacist is outdated and terribly expensive. Most countries dispense medications in blister packs. Why should anyone have to count pills in the first place? Give the patient a 7, 14, 30 or 90 count blister pack and done.
canada_dry 7y ago
> add another 10 years to my career" -- he was probably in his early 60's already I have absolutely no problem - even prefer - having a surgeon with 40+ yrs experience operating on me via a robot device that removes any tremors from old age. Their experience is what matters.

by zomg 7y ago

godzillabrennus 7y ago

Agree. Robotics hasn’t even really penetrated the market for treatment or diagnostics yet. There are many opportunities.

swiley 7y ago
I'm really not sure it will any time soon. I think robot enthusiasts sometimes underestimate what hands attached to a brain full of knowledge really are capable of. There's a problem software developers have to solve if they really want robots to be a full replacement for a human physically performing a task and that's a way for the trained humans to communicate their knowledge to the robot. The problem with this is that most people really aren't great at communicating precisely. They have a hard time teaching each other and are often hopeless when it comes to giving precise and complete instructions for something to a robot. forget complex tasks like surgery even gardening and washing dishes is hard. Even something as simple as "grab the thing" is a pretty big project. Maybe in the future as robots become more common speaking with the level of precision required will also become common (kind of like what happened to culture with the web and email.)
- philips 7y ago
  I think you are thinking of robotics in the sense of replacing surgeons or being an autonomous partner. While OP is talking of robotics as an assitive tool to help a surgeon make finer or less invasive movements.
canada_dry 7y ago
I'd really like to see robotic (light's out) pharmacies become a thing. Removing the extremely expensive Pharmacist from simply counting pills for things like repeats of common medications. This would surely reduce consumer costs with little/zero risk.
- copperx 7y ago
  The idea of having a pharmacist is outdated and terribly expensive. Most countries dispense medications in blister packs. Why should anyone have to count pills in the first place? Give the patient a 7, 14, 30 or 90 count blister pack and done.

canada_dry 7y ago

> add another 10 years to my career" -- he was probably in his early 60's already I have absolutely no problem - even prefer - having a surgeon with 40+ yrs experience operating on me via a robot device that removes any tremors from old age. Their experience is what matters.