Robot Reviews

That should convince me it's safe for robots to operate on my innards.

The da Vinci Surgical System has been launched since January 1999 and numerous news and blog articles have been written about it since then. However, it's but normal to be hesitant to have a machine perform very high-risk tasks. I mean, it's one thing to have a robot scrub & vacuum floors, demonstrate exercises to the elderly, simulate patient actions, or even transport them from one bed to another.

But preparing IV syringes or performing operations? I don't know about you but I reckoned we shouldn't be taking any chances. Well, at least that's how I felt before. This bit of news seems to present, statistically speaking, a high level of success for this robot and that's why you're finally reading about the da Vinci robot from me. 

Actually, this machine, officially known as the da Vinci Surgical System, never operates on you on its own. It's always controlled by a trained surgeon. Still, robots (autonomous or not) are associated with brute force. So I've often thought ... One slight miscalculation and "Ooops! da Vinci just blasted your stomach wide open!" may be the last cry I'll ever hear.

Apparently, the folks at Queen's Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii, trust it so much, they actually employed two. 1,000 operations since their first have resulted in fewer complications after surgery as well as shorter recovery times. And all that, only since 2007. So you do the math; that's definitely more than 2 operations using the da Vinci Surgical System per day, including weekends.

Both robots have been used various complex surgeries including prostatectomy, hysterectomy, heart valve repair, thorascopic surgeries, gastrointestinal surgeries, and gastric bypass, among others. Basically, according to Dr. Whitney Limm, the Medical Director of Surgery at Queen's, "With the da Vinci robot, surgeons are able to perform complex operations through dime-sized incisions", i.e., gain access to hard-to-reach cavities using "tiny hands".

As such, the risk of losing more blood, as, ironically, lesser tissues are affected, is reduced. 

The latest model of the da Vinci robot is the da Vinci Si HD system, capable of providing high-definition 3D vision, a better user interface, digital extensibility, and a dual-console for training and collaboration.

You can find the press release from Queen's Medical Center here.