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The Da Vinci Medical Robot: Explained By Surya Krishnan
As the world progresses on the path of technology, new things keep being created. There are already many technology devices created, and many more are being created now. An example of that in medical technology is the “Da Vinci” Medical Robot. With the project started in 1999 by Intuitive Surgical Inc., the Da Vinci medical robot broke out the curiosity that if medical robots indeed could conduct and successfully complete surgeries in a hospital. The Da Vinci medical robot had a slow start, but according to statistics last year, the Da Vinci robot conducted about 400, 000 surgeries, which is triple the amount of surgeries it conducted just 4 years ago. Though these are amazing facts about the Da Vinci, what are the Da Vinci’s pros, and cons?
What is the Da Vinci?
Before we discuss the pros and cons of the Da Vinci medical robot, let’s learn a bit about the Da Vinci in general. The Da Vinci is a spider-like medical robot with multiple components to it. The Da Vinci has a Surgeon Console, where the surgeon remotely controls the Da Vinci medical robot; it has a Patient-side Cart, where the patient is positioned during their surgery. It also has the EndoWrist arms, which are the arms that the surgeon controls on the Da Vinci to conduct the surgery, and it finally has a monitor that shows the surgeon where they are in the patient’s body during the surgery. The Da Vinci medical robot project started in 1999, and Intuitive Surgical Inc. released the newest model of the Da Vinci, the Da Vinci Si, in 2009.
Pros
Let’s start out with the pros of having a Da Vinci system in a hospital.
• The Da Vinci medical robot is easily adjustable for the surgeon’s needs for comfort.
• There are many EndoWrist instruments available to the surgeon at any time.
• The Da Vinci comes with another large monitor for the rest of the surgical team to see.
• The Da Vinci may be more precise than a surgeon when conducting a surgery.
• The newest model, the Da Vinci Si features hands and foot controls for the surgeon so the surgeon is able to do multiple tasks throughout the whole surgery.
Cons
As we all know, no device yet is the perfect medical device, and every device comes with its cons. Here are a few cons about the Da Vinci medical system.
• A large amount of training is required to actually work with the Da Vinci medical robot on a regular basis, so a hospital may take a large amount of time training its doctors to operate the Da Vinci before they release the technology in their hospital.
• As the Da Vinci is controlled by a surgeon, a small move by the surgeon on the Da Vinci’s arm control could greatly affect the operation that is being conducted.
• There have been cases of where the Da Vinci has stopped working during an operation, and the surgeons have to restart the whole Da Vinci system without harming the patient in any way.
• About 5 deaths have been caused last year due to the Da Vinci medical robot.
Conclusion
After conducting our research on the Da Vinci, its pros and its cons, we have come to a conclusion; on we support the Da Vinci project or robot technology in general. After organizing out all the facts we had into pros and cons, we thought that robot technology is an amazing verge in technology, and while it can help us in many ways, we suggest to hospitals to give robot technology in surgeries a rest, until it is fully assured by stats and test results that it in fact is the safest way to do surgeries. For now, we suggest to hospitals to keep conducting surgeries by using surgeons over robots, but having the same grade of technology we use today in hospitals, that assist a surgeon during a surgery.
MedTeck Rating For The Da Vinci:
Overall:
We give the Da Vinci a 3 star rating for its overall, because though in fact it is helpful to many hospitals and doctors who conduct surgeries, the technology is still slightly new to us, and the saftey concerns take it down.
Safety:
The Da Vinci is new technology, and grasping the controls of the Da Vinci can be a challenging thing. One small mistake by the surgeon could result in a devestation in the operation.
Innovation:
The Da Vinci certainly sets the standard for future medical devices. It's unparalleled new technology will definitely make many medical technology companies to look up to the Da Vinci and make many more amazing devices like it.
Performance:
Varies
There are many different models of the Da Vinci, and mainly, there are many different surgeons around. The differences in Da Vinci models and the different surgeons using the Da Vinci could change the outcome of a surgery.