Tuesday, March 27, 2012

The Future of Medicine


            A couple days after the accident, the hematoma in my brain had taken the wrong course. It was time for surgery. As the nurse rolled me into the operating room, the smell of sterility overwhelmed my nostrils. Celestial lights shined down on my narcotized body, making for a dreamy ride to the centre of the room. Within seconds, nurses were crowding around me, inserting the intravenous anesthetic. They comforted me as my consciousness began to fade.  Before I knew it, I was awake in my hospital bed after a successful brain surgery.
            Now imagine this same situation performed by artificial intelligence. The nurse rolling me into the room would be replaced by a robotically driven gurney. An artificially driven machine would inject the anesthetic while its accomplice restrained my arm. Once unconscious, the robots would peruse my body, recording all the variables needed to perform algorithms of my brain surgery. The end result would be a surgery performed with precision superior to that of a human doctor.
            Although this is an extreme alteration to my experience, it isn’t unreasonable. In the twenty first century, the use of robotics is becoming commonplace in medicine. Many of the autonomous mechanisms, illustrated above, exist or could be developed. For example, the Google driverless car technology could be implemented in the stretcher and the pneumatically powered Limb Positioner by Smith & Nephew could hold down my arm. Next the administration of anesthetic could be performed by the Intelligent Hospital Systems IV automation device adapted with a syringe. Finally, the MAKO Surgical Corp. robot, used for automated bone cuts in knee replacements, could be developed to perform craniotomies. If all of this is possible, it raises the question as to how far robotics should actually be implemented in medicine.
         In pursuit of an answer, lets consider a movement that took place over two centuries ago – the Industrial Revolution. During this period, new manufacturing processes gave industrialists the opportunity to transform the social and economic realities of the day. Production became efficient and precise, which created jobs for unskilled laborers (Levack et al. ch. 20). Incredible economic growth ensued. The only problem with this was the adaptiveness of the processes themselves. Skilled workers, such as artisans and blacksmiths, who had custom crafted goods for centuries, could no longer compete. The world had entered a new age of production, focused on homogeneous products that conformed to popular demand.
            When it comes to medicine, many surgeries and illnesses cannot be treated with a common diagnosis. Each patient must be assessed individually, for each has a unique body and symptoms. Surgeries, in particular, need to be managed strategically. As a surgeon performs a hip replacement, there are numerous variables that must be accounted for to ensure the safety of the patient. Despite being more precise than humans, medical robots will need to address these intricacies if they are to replace doctors in practice.
            In addition to extensive algorithms and real-time analysis, automation in medicine will need to make economic sense. When considering the impressive technology needed to perform high quality surgeries, it will be challenging to develop affordable robots. Systems will cost millions of dollars, causing hospitals to speculate whether or not the new technologies are sensible investments. Furthermore, liability issues will arise when accidents occur. Will the robots need their own malpractice insurance? In response to this, the economic and regulatory framework of health care will need substantial reform.
            If all goes well and robots progress to the point where they are adaptive and economically viable, they face one last obstacle – public acceptance. Decades before their invention, robots were mainstream phenomena, appearing in a variety of works. Movies such as Terminator and I, Robot played on the idea of robots betraying their human counterparts. This appearance next to zombies and aliens in movies only increased our innate disapproval of an automated control of our lives. The idea of having a self-driving car rocketing at 100 kilometers per hour or a robot performing open heart surgery, is unsettling for most. Unfortunately, this popular sentiment is misleading. According the Economics Commission of Europe, approximately 2 million road traffic accidents occur in North America every year, whereas Google’s autonomous car hasn’t crashed in over 190,000 miles of travel (Guizzo). This comparison is not yet as substantial in medicine, but it displays the difficulty of appeasing the public with automated technology.
            Although society isn’t ready for fully automated surgeries, there are many intermediate technologies that could make a difference in the field of medicine. For example, the da Vinci surgical system, which allows doctors to perform robotic surgeries from a separate console (Intuitive Surgical), could be advanced to perform long distance operations. This sort of development, mixed with it’s effect on our prejudices, will determine if fully autonomous systems will ever be possible. As new technologies are integrated into society, our fear of automated control might fade. There is also a chance that socio-economic problems will hinder technological progress. Only time can tell if, one day, an 8th grader with a depressed skull fracture will go to a robotic brain surgeon to save his life.

Works Cited

Economic Commission For Europe, Geneva. Statistics of Road Traffic Accidents in Europe and North America. 2011. PDF.

Guizzo, Erico. “How Google’s Self-Driving Car Works”. DiscoveryNews, 18 Oct. 2011. Web. 1 Feb. 2012.

Intelligent Hospital Systems. Intelligent Hospital Systems. Web. 27 Jan. 2012.

Intuitive Surgical. Intuitive Surgical Inc. 2011. Web. 27 Jan. 2012.

Levack, Brian, et al. The West: Encounters & Transformations. Concise ed. Pearson Education.
            Longman 2004. Web.

Mako Surgical. Mako Surgical Corp. Web. 27 Jan. 2012.

Smith & Nephew. Smith & Nephew. 2010. Web. 27 Jan. 2012.

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Pervious Concrete


About a month ago I was listening to NPR's Science Friday and learned about an eco-friendly concrete that allows water to drain through it. By allowing water to return to the soil, groundwater reserves are replenished while reducing stormwater runoff. Pretty awesome!


For more information you can listen the podcast or visit the NRMCA website.

Podcast                   http://www.perviouspavement.org/