The history of surgical robots, although a brief one, cannot be overlooked in the healthcare and meditech industries. From ‘promise’ and ‘potential’ to real-time implementation, the journey of surgical robots has been swift. History was made in 1985 when a robotic surgical arm ‘Puma 560’ was used for the first time ever. Five years later, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new robotic system developed by Computer Motion. The ‘AESOP’ was developed for endoscopic surgical procedures. Although this system came along with a few drawbacks, people had realized the potential of robotic surgeries and till then, the floodgates had already been opened! Ingestible ‘Nanobots’ May Soon be the Answer to Non-invasive Cancer Treatment Technology has never failed to amuse us. From automation to real-time interactions, new meditech has influenced our lifestyle in an entirety.
The role of automation in healthcare has been exceptional and this time, it may have provided us the long awaited ‘non-invasive’ solution to treat vicious cancer cells. The concept of nanobots was laughed at when scientists first came up with this theory back in 2013. Many raised the questions of safety, with some people jokingly claiming if ‘humans ate nanobots’ or will ‘nanobots eat humans.’ But recent developments in nanobots have come about as a shock to many. As if surgical robotic arms weren’t fascinating enough, the advent of non-invasive nanobot-assisted methods may transform surgical procedures altogether. The ‘intrigue’ quotient was taken up a notch when studies indicated that nanobots wouldn’t require any invasive procedures, and that they could track the tumor themselves.
Although the concept of nanobots hasn’t been backed by practical evidence, once they are in full practise, nanobots will cause a stir in the healthcare industry. Surgical Robots Are Providing Ideal Growth Opportunities to Automation Companies The concept of surgical robots has sparked several innovations ever since its inception. Intuitive Surgical was one of the first ever companies to manufacture the surgical robots on a global scale. Although the company boasts an attractive range of surgical robots, it announced itself on the global stage with the ‘da Vinci’ surgical system in 2000. With a host of application-oriented surgical robots in the following years, the company is still going strong on all fronts. Fair to say, Intuitive Surgical’s products have been matched by several competitors such as Medtronic, Stryker, Smith and Nephew, and Zimmer Biomet.
Market competition has only proven positive to the healthcare industry and the manner of business go-about of these companies, nobody can really guess what to expect next. Surgical Robots Are Lending a Helping ‘Arm’ to Healthcare Companies In recent years, automation has gradually made its way into the hearts of healthcare companies. Healthcare have realized that collaboration with automation companies will prove key to business expansion. Automation has redefined the healthcare space and it has become increasingly evident now that a collaboration between companies from these two domains can do wonders for both the parties. As more healthcare and medical companies have expressed their intentions to welcome automation, analysts have identified company mergers as the key to success.
In reality, healthcare companies cannot simply deviate from their core strategies. In simple terms, it is almost impossible for a healthcare company to start manufacturing robots. Hence the healthcare industry slowly but surely taking shape due to the increasing number of automation company mergers and soon enough, robots are likely to emerge at the fore of several surgeries. Surgical Robots Have Surely Stolen the Limelight but Can Humans Resist Ethical Challenges? Undoubtedly, surgical robots have done more good than bad ever since their introduction back in the 1990s. As scientists have now claimed that surgical robots are more efficient than humans in C-section surgical procedures, many have raised concerns stating this will go against the ethical barriers. Medical ethics is a major concern going forward in the future of meditech.
Not everyone is comfortable with robot-assisted surgeries and if human surgeons are on the road to extinction, who is to blame? Nevertheless, it could be long until humans can completely trust surgical robots to perform all or even some medical procedures. Having said that, the degree of precision and efficiency, backed by minimum surgical errors, will reduce the hesitancy among people and soon enough, robots will revolutionize the healthcare industry.
