“Robot Machines” and Medicine
A recent issue of my local newspaper carried a syndicated medical
advice column in which a reader expressed concern about doctors communicating with
patients via “robot machines” and asked, “What has the medical
industry come to?”
Well, I don’t have the understanding or the space to discuss
the current state of the medical industry, but those troubling “robot machines”
certainly are within the
BioPhotonics purview. The good doctor told his readers,
“Robotic medicine is the wave of the future,” and while he and his correspondent
were focused on mobile robots controlled remotely by a physician, medical marvels
of another kind can be found assimilating into surgical teams to assist with procedures
including prostate gland removal and obstructed kidney repair, to name just two.
Courtesy of, and ©2010, Intuitive Surgical Inc.
Contributing editor Marie Freebody delves into the latest advances
in surgical robotics, including the sensing and vision optics involved, in her feature,
“
A Cut Above: Robotics in Surgery,” beginning on page 29. In addition
to the optical technologies involved in diseased organ removal, Freebody will look
into the future and the emerging nanorobot technology that may one day make its
way into human bloodstreams for diagnosis and targeted drug delivery.
Keeping to our medical theme, contributing editor Hank Hogan probes
the limits of miniature endoscopes. In “
For Medical Instruments, Going Small Pays Off Big,” beginning on page 32, Hogan explains that, although ever-smaller
instruments may bring benefits to patients and physicians, the laws of physics may
slow the race to reduce.
I’m not sure how I feel about sharing my medical condition
with a robot, even if it has my doctor’s face, but I do talk with friends
and family via an Internet phone service that allows me to see and be seen while
I talk. It is just a matter of time before we find ourselves face to interface with
service providers of all kinds.
Enjoy the issue, and send your thoughts to me at
karen.newman@photonics.com,
or leave a comment in the space provided after every story at
www.photonics.com.
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