A 2-1B surgical droid.
Posted on 05/04/2008 9:58:23 PM PDT by neverdem
WHAT do you call a surgeon who operates without scalpels, stitching tools or a powerful headlamp to light the patient’s insides? A better doctor, according to a growing number of surgeons who prefer to hand over much of the blood-and-guts portion of their work to medical robots controlled from computer consoles.
Many urologists performing prostate surgery view the precise, tremor-free movements of a robot as the best way to spare nerves crucial to bladder control and sexual potency. A robot’s ability to deftly handle small tools may lead to a less invasive procedure and faster recovery for a patient. Robots also can protect surgeons from physical stress and exposure to X-rays that may force them into premature retirement.
A generation ago, the debate in medicine was whether robotics would ever play a role. Today, robots are a fast-growing, diversifying $1 billion segment of the medical device industry. And Wall Street has just two questions for the industry: How far is this going, and how fast?
There are no simple answers, of course, but it is remarkable how often Frederic H. Moll comes up in any discussion.
Dr. Moll, 56, is a soft-spoken man who can look uncomfortable on stage. Yet his role in founding Intuitive Surgical, the company that now dominates the field, and his current involvement with three other robotics companies, has kept him in the sights of investors, health care providers and fellow entrepreneurs.
He’s now best known as chief executive of Hansen Medical, a publicly traded robotics company focused on minimally invasive cardiac care. But he’s also an investor in and a board member of Mako Surgical, an orthopedics robotics company that recently went public, and he is a co-founder and chairman of Restoration Robotics, a start-up company focused on cosmetic surgery.
“Anyone who meets Fred will...,”
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
Scientists discover exotic quantum state of matter
FReepmail me if you want on or off my health and science ping list.
Preppy robots?
For anyone who asks about high health costs and the overall quality of the US Healthcare system, here it is. Less pain shorter recovery times, fewer complications, higher quality of life are unfortunately things that social medicine advocates NEVER include in assessing our high tech, but expensive system.
Say what?
Well, Jeff, you want me to operate, eh? Okay... 
give me a moment to prep my new nurse.
Now, do I use my .45... 
or this drill to open up the urethra?
Well, after that surgery, you cain't pee nor get it up anymore... 
but you have a scar to die for!
Okay, get this gurney out of here! It is time... 
for the lunch crowd!
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