Posted on 07/05/2005 10:45:05 AM PDT by StuLongIsland
Robot hand performs remote breast checks
Life-saving breast examinations could soon be performed by a robotic hand that combines ultrasound with an artificial sense of touch.
The robotic breast examiner was devised by researchers at Michigan State University in the US. They say it will enable a medical specialist to examine women from a remote location, perhaps even from the other side of the world.
"Just because you’re located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan or even Botswana, it doesn’t mean you can’t have a sophisticated diagnostic or therapeutic procedure," says Carol Slomski, a surgeon at Michigan State University, who helped design the system.
The robot hand is remotely controlled by means of a haptic "glove", in which each finger is connected to a motion-sensing device. The operator's hand movements are then measured and sent via a computer to the artificial hand, which almost instantly mimics the operator's moves.
Advantageous combination The robotic grasper also measures the consistency of objects in its grasp by means of feedback to its motors. And this tactile information is fee back to the mechanical glove giving the wearer an artificial sensation of touch.
The arm also incorporates an ultrasound sensor as well as three video cameras, to give the expert a good view of the procedure.
"Having the capability of ultrasound and palpation simultaneously is a major advantage," adds Ranjan Mukherjee, another member of the Michigan team. "Often the ultrasound and exam are done separately. But if the physician can look at the image and feel what he or she is seeing, that’s another huge advantage."
Data delay Mukherjee says the next stage is to conduct clinical trials, which should show how reliable the system is. But he believes it could be five years before the system becomes commercially available.
However, some experts are doubtful that such a system would work in practice. "Tele-operated robots have a big problem with delay," says William Harwin, at the University of Reading in the UK, and the sensitivity of touch is not as good.
He suggests a better way to perform remote examinations is to perform the data gathering and expert analysis one after the other. "A more realistic model in principal is to gather data from the remote site, under direction from the clinical base," he explains, and then transfer it the remote expert, who could then use virtual reality tools to interpret it.
The Borg doesn't seem so bad, now does it?
"Open the pod bay doors, HAL."
Ah yes, mechanizing the police state.
So much more palatable.
So when the robot malfunctions and crushes some woman's breast, a scene that could be an outtake from Robocop, will everyone just shrug and say, "that's the way it is?"
Americans live in a police state now because the entire planet uses us for a goddamn doormat. Restrict mass movement into this country - especially from third world, terror supporting countries - and this crap will end.
You're probably too young to remember, but there actually was a time in this country when you could get on an airplane without first showing your ID to an Ethiopian, then being searched by legal aliens (allegedly) from the Phillipines (a true story, which happened to me the other day at Dulles).
You couldn't have gotten anyone to believe it would come to this in 1965. It would have sounded like bad science fiction.
You forgot the best news..the machine runs on two "AA" batteries..(g)
(not included)
Uh, I don't plan on being first in line for this one.
DANG - this thing sounds scary. What if it has a short and it clamps down too hard? And how do you slap it?
Bad enough we women have to get our protuberances completely flattened during a mammogram, but now the exam might include being handled by that machine? Gross!! No thanks!
So when do we see a robot that does prostate exams?
He will be heartbroken to find out he's got competition. LOL
When women invent.
Hey, if this replaces The Squasher, I'm game! :o)
or colonoscopies...
Let's just hope they don't use Windows. "I'm sorry, Mr. Hex, but we've run into a problem and have to reboot you."
In robotic monotone-
"Let me Shepard you onto the exam table!"
So you're saying the (male) inventors of this robot are a tad misogynist? :^)
I didn't bother reading the article or any of the responses, 33 at this moment, but I'm surprised so many FReepers are interested in hand robotry.
Owl_Eagle(If what I just wrote makes you sad or angry,
If we can't be up close why not invent? Where is the camera? It needs a camera.
Bubba would BE a robot...
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