Healthcare technology has improved throughout decades. In the early 1920s the health information management industry, also known as HIM, was created, thus having medical records to document details, complications, and outcomes of patients care. In the 1980s we first discover having computers set at hospitals that helps with securing medical records and allowing check-in processes to be more efficient. Now we have advanced technology where we’re able to have robot-assisted surgery.

Robot-assisted surgery is a technological development that uses robots to help surgery. This allows surgeons to perform a more precise and controlled procedure. It’s associated with minimally invasive surgery and sometimes open surgical procedures. With minimally invasive surgery, it’s performed with small incisions. Some benefits of this procedure is that causes less pain and blood loss, it has a fast recovery and smaller and less noticeable scars. Robot-assisted surgery provides a high-definition 3D view that can show a 12-fold magnified perspective of the procedure that would usually be invisible to the naked eye.

Robot-assisted surgery is constructed by the da Vinci Surgical System. It was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2000 and was made by the American company Intuitive Surgical. The da Vinci System transfers surgeon's hand movements onto movements of tiny instruments, that are attached to the robot, inside the patient’s body. The way surgeons can see a microscopic view of the procedure is with the help of laparoscope, which is a thin tube with a light and camera attached to the end. The da Vinci System performed surgeries of more than 3 million patients worldwide. It can be more powerful in the future if it used artificial intelligence to create anatomical data. There are seven main surgeries the da Vinci System focuses on, one of them is colorectal surgery.

Colorectal surgery deals with problems with the rectum, anus, and colon. Colorectal cancer is also known as colon cancer or rectal cancer. There are different types of colorectal surgeries, there’s an abdominoperineal resection surgery (APR) that are performed if the rectal cancer is located near the anus and colectomy, which removes part or all of your colon to reduce colon cancer. Colorectal surgery is usually performed with traditional open surgery but with the help of the da Vinci System, colorectal surgery can be performed with small incisions. Thus, helping the patient return to a normal diet, bowel function and also fewer chances of having colorectal cancer.

Technology has improved throughout history with healthcare and it’s clearly benefiting millions of people. We now have the technology to perform accurate surgeries to successfully treat patients. Robot surgery interests me because it would’ve been an option for my brother if his colonoscopy surgery failed a couple years ago. A colonoscopy surgery is an examination of the large and small bowels with a CCD camera on a tube passed through the anus. Along with that, my family is commonly associated with the medical field and I’d love to understand their perspective on robot-assisted surgery.

Photo Montage: Impact on Humans

The da Vinci Surgical system affects many people with advantages, along with disadvantages and this image montage represents just that. In the center of the image, there’s the da Vinci system being used with a patient. The ideal message of this image is to show that there may be multiple thoughts going through the patient’s head while going through the procedure and they might be good or bad. The left side shows the good, while the right shows bad, thus the advantages and disadvantages.

The top left side of the photo shows a family being happy with each other’s comfort. The da Vinci system claims that robotic surgery can result in shorter hospital stay and allow the patient to finish recovery at home with their loved ones and studies show that this is one of the most important issues to patients, which correlates to the photo on the right of it, where it says, “Time for Recovery.” Recovery is faster and even more comfortable since the robot is more precise and creates less damage to the patient. Another advantage is that with robot-assisted surgery there are reduced blood loss, less pain and smaller, less noticeable scars, that all represent the other left side images. Scarring is also another important issue patients look at when having surgery. The da Vinci System not only helps the patients but surgeons as well. Since the procedure is very precise with small incisions, this helps the surgery go through more fast and efficient. The small incisions also reduce risks of infections for the patient. There also have been situations where patients will have to wait longer to have surgery because their body is weak from illnesses but with robotic surgery, they don’t need to wait since it’s less invasive than open surgery.

Although there are many advantages, there are disadvantages as well and that’s represented on the right side of the image. It’s easy for surgeons to not be fully trained correctly to use the da Vinci system. For many years, physicians are taught to learn open surgery and for this new type of technology to appear, this is something completely new that they are not familiar with. Since they are not 100% professionals at it, there are chances that the procedure won’t go as planned. The da Vinci system website states the risks and complications, it states, “As with any surgical device, there is also the risk that the da Vinci robotic surgical system could malfunction or fail, leading to serious injury or the need to switch to another type of surgical approach.” This resembles the right middle photo, with the words, “System malfunctioning.” Since there can be equipment failure, this can be very dangerous for patients and leave them off with internal scarring, injury to tissues and organs, and even possible formation of blood clot in leg veins. This is represented at the top right image, which shows multiple images of people in pain if they have any of these issues. For the past 14 years, there have been 1,391 injuries and 144 deaths caused by robot-assisted surgery. The last two photos on the bottom right represent injury and death, which both can occur if the device malfunctions. In addition, robotic-assisted surgery is very expensive and not available to those who cannot pay for it financially.

Therefore, humans have the choice whether or not they want to popularize this type of technology. There are many benefits but also life-threatening risks using this system. Luckily, this doesn’t restrict automating surgeon’s jobs completely, it enhances it and creates a more efficient environment.

Prediction

Technology in healthcare has been improving but most people don’t consider what this can lead to the future. There are many outcomes and predictions futurists have concluded by these medical technology developing day by day. For instance, the biggest issue people can conclude is that advancing technology can affect surgeons jobs. Robotic surgery has already overtaken traditional open surgery, think about all the improvements we’re able to make on these robots for them to eventually replace surgeons completely. Another reason this could happen is that surgeons nowadays tend to alienate themselves away from patients. They want to use robotic surgery because it’s quicker and easier for them to use, also, barely in any contact with the patient. They can change this by treating their patients with empathy before and after the surgery, thus having a lower chance of their services not being replaced by artificial intelligence and the advancement of robotics.

Throughout history, the goal of medical professions was to start the workings of the human body and improve small incisions and excisions to make them possible. By the end of the 18th century, after Edison produced his lightbulb, a Glasgow physician built a tiny bulb into a tube to be able to look around inside the body. In the 20th century, fiber-optic threads brought brighter light into bodies and a little after, tiny computer chip cameras were able to send images back out of the bodies (medicalfuturist). Now we can perform robotic surgery, perfectly seeing the inside of a person’s body with tiny tools like laparoscopes, which are tiny long tools used in minimally invasive surgery. There will be drastic changes in the future, regarding the history of surgery.

Other companies are competing against the da Vinci System and they want to be able to construct all of the da Vinci system’s limitations. “With their AXSIS robot, Cambridge Consultants aim to overcome the limitations of the da Vinci, such as its large size and inability to work with highly detailed and fragile tissues” (medicalfuturist). Now, the da Vinci system is focusing on small invasive surgeries, with tiny, work-like arms but in the future, they’ll be able to construct bigger procedures like cataract surgery. Right now Catherine Mohr, Vice President of strategy at Intuitive Surgical & expert in surgical robotics, plans to combine surgical robotics and artificial intelligence. “She sees IBM Watson, Google Deepmind’s Alpha Go and machine learning algorithms be a part of this plan” (medicalfuturist). She doesn’t want technology development to replace humans but for both humans and medical technology to work together. Hopefully, Mohr’s plan won’t improve surgical robotics to where surgeons can be replaced and other surgical robotic systems, advancing their technology, will still have surgeons in control of the robot.

Another prediction that may happen in the future is Single-incision port, which is a surgery that it cut through the patient’s belly button, then inserted with snake-like arms of the robot. Along with that, “doctors are anticipating the growth of telemedicine and long-distance operations, where a doctor could conceivably operate on a patient in another city, state, or even a different continent” (businessinsider). There would have to be surgical centers around the world with trained doctors being able to use these type of surgical technology. This would mean that there will be a high level of competition between doctors who want surgical bids and this will push surgeons to be their very best. Not only will this help the surgeon, but the patient as well, being able to have surgery with any surgeon their desire. Location won’t be a problem.

Therefore, advancing technology in healthcare for the future can lead to drastic changes. Surgeons can easily be replaced by robots because they alienate themselves away from patients and not create that connection towards each other. Other robotic surgery companies like AXSIS robot are building their way to advance their technology more beneficial to patients than using the da Vinci System. There are also plans of combining artificial intelligent companies and surgical robotic systems to make improvements in robotic surgery’s involvement with artificial intelligence. Along with that, there’s a chance that single-incision port, telemedicine, and long-distance operations may happen. There are benefits to these predictions but also major risks.

I think that since the future plans of robotic surgery are to advance their technology with artificial intelligence, it'll lead to autonomous robot surgeons. Creating fewer job choices for the future and completely replacing human surgeons. As new generations pass by, more people will be attracted and amazed by the new technology health care will have because they're more likely to be open to new ideas. But for the older generation, they will try to keep their jobs and support human resources as much as possible. As more and more people approve of relying on technology for their human needs, the more likely jobs will be replaced.

Concluding Paragraph

The introduction and first artifact about robot-assisted surgery connect to my second artifact about the impact of robot-assisted surgery on humans because my second artifact shows a deeper meaning of robot-assisted surgery. I simply introduced what robotic surgery is and the type of system it's associated with. By creating a deeper meaning, I used the perspective of a patient showing the pros and cons of this type of medical technology. My second artifact about the impact of robot-assisted surgery on humans connects to my third artifact about the future of robot-assisted surgery because it shows that after all the advantages and disadvantages of the da Vinci System, there are predictions researchers have concluded about the robot-assisted surgery that will happen in the future.

In conclusion, robot-assisted surgery has many strengths and weaknesses it impacts on humanity. There are risks of malfunctioning the system can have on patients, making it life-threatening yet it can save lives completely by running through successful procedures that'll reduce scarring, blood loss, and result in fast recovery. Many robotic surgical companies have already been planning out for their success in the future; teaming up with other artificial intelligent companies and competing against one another. Along with that, there will be a point where surgeons will be able to construct surgery from different parts of the world, connecting with their patients through technology. Eventually, this will allow technology in healthcare become more advanced in the future, allowing jobs to be automated and replaced. As we prepare for the future, many jobs will be replaced by machines and the human race will be more willing to trust these machines as they become intelligent.

Introduction References:

• “About Robotic-Assisted Surgery.” Cleveland Clinic, my.clevelandclinic.org/health/treatments/16908-about-robotic-assisted-surgery.
• Anadolu Medical Center. “Robotic-Assisted Surgery for Cancer Treatment - Anadolu Medical Center.” Title, www.anadolumedicalcenter.tv/articles/robotic-assisted-surgery-for-cancer-treatment_23.html.
• Angela. “The History of Healthcare Technology and the Evolution of EHR.” VertitechIT, 12 Mar. 2018, www.vertitechit.com/history-healthcare-technology/.
• Bel Marra Health. “Abdominal Pain Update: Causes of Pain in Men and Women, Gastritis and Appendicitis.” Bel Marra Health - Breaking Health News and Health Information, Bel Marra Health, 28 Aug. 2017, www.belmarrahealth.com/abdominal-pain-update-lower-abdominal-pain-men-women-upper-abdominal-pain-gastritis-appendicitis/.
• “Colonoscopy.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 16 Jan. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/colonoscopy/about/pac-20393569.
• “Da Vinci Colorectal Surgery.” Dr. Robin Fuchs, MD - Orthopedics - Kirkland, Washington (WA), www.evergreenhealth.com/da-vinci-colorectal-surgery.
• “Da Vinci Colon Surgery (Colectomy).” Da Vinci Surgery | Thoracic Surgery | Minimally Invasive Surgery, www.davincisurgery.com/da-vinci-colorectal/da-vinci-colectomy.php.
• Leber, Rebecca. “Will Washington State Pass the Nation's First Carbon Tax?” Mother Jones, 30 Nov. 2017, www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/11/will-washington-state-pass-the-nations-first-carbon-tax/.
• Lecturer, Lissy. “ROBOTIC SURGERIES.” LinkedIn SlideShare, 22 July 2015, www.slideshare.net/LissyLecturer/robotic-surgeries.
• “Medical Tech.” Bariatric Surgery for Weight Loss – Medical Tech, www.techshopdurham.com/category/bariatric-surgery-for-weight-loss/.
• “New Frontier with the Da Vinci® Surgical System.” The Liver Institute - Providing Liver Services, Kidney and Pancreas Transplantation and More., 7 July 2015, theliverinstitutetx.com/news-and-updates/da-vinci-surgical-system-robotic-surgery-at-the-liver-institute/.
• Nordqvist, Christian. “Colorectal Cancer: Symptoms, Treatment, Risk Factors, and Causes.”Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 9 Jan. 2018, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/155598.php.
• “Nurses | Inquirer Global Nation.” Inquirer Global Nation 70th Anniversary of the Infamous Rescission Act of 1946 Comments, globalnation.inquirer.net/74321/why-are-there-so-many-filipino-nurses-in-the-us/nurses-2.
• “Rectal Bleeding.” Colorectal Surgeons Sydney, colorectalsurgeonssydney.com.au/conditions/rectal-conditions/rectal-bleeding.
• “Robotic Surgery.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research, 10 Feb. 2018, www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/robotic-surgery/about/pac-20394974.
• Simonite, Tom. “Robots That Understand Human Anatomy Could Make Surgery More Effective.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 17 Oct. 2016, www.technologyreview.com/s/602595/the-recipe-for-the-perfect-robot-surgeon/.
• “Types of Colon and Rectal Surgery.” MedStar Health System, www.medstarhealth.org/mhs/our-services/surgery/treatments/colon-and-rectal-surgery/types-of-colon-and-rectal-surgery/.
• UC Davis Health. “Minimally Invasive, Robotic-Assisted Surgery.” Newsroom, www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/surgery/specialties/robotic/.

Artifact 2 References:

• “DaVinci Prostatectomy.” Robotic Prostatectomy, www.roboticcancersurgery.com/DaVinci-Prostatectomy/Advantages-and-Disadvantages.aspx.
• Mishra, R.K. “Disadvantages of Da Vinci Robotic Surgery.” Minimally Invasive Laparoscopic Surgery for Early-Stage Cervical Cancer, www.laparoscopyhospital.com/davincirobotdisadvantage.html.
• Seton Healthcare Family. “Understanding the Benefits of Robotic Surgery.” Seton, www.seton.net/medical-services-and-programs/surgical-services/robotic-surgery/about-robotic-surgery/understanding-the-benefits/.
• “Surgical Risk Document.” Da Vinci Surgery | Thoracic Surgery | Minimally Invasive Surgery, www.davincisurgery.com/safety/.
• “Robotic Surgery Linked to 144 Deaths in the US.” BBC News, BBC, 22 July 2015, www.bbc.com/news/technology-33609495.

Artifact 3 References

• Katz, David L. “Telemedicine, Telehealth And Online Doctor Visits.” AARP, www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/telemedicine-teleheath-online-doctors-appointment.html.
• Lee, Joel. “What Happens When Robots Can Do All the Jobs?” MakeUseOf, 24 Feb. 2015, www.makeuseof.com/tag/happens-robots-can-jobs/.
• Polland, Jennifer. “Watch: This Robot Is Poised To Change Surgery Forever.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 1 Aug. 2012, www.businessinsider.com/the-future-of-robotic-surgery-2012-7.
• “The Technological Future of Surgery.” The Medical Futurist, 18 Jan. 2017, medicalfuturist.com/the-technological-future-of-surgery/.