The ageing world population and an increasing amount of surgeries worldwide increases the demand for surgical robots rapidly (George and Brand, 2018). Therefore, robotic surgeons are an upcoming technological innovation in the MedTech industry. Robotic assistants are able to perform with higher precision and a lower error-rate than humans, which reduces the number of complications during surgeries. The high reliability and flexibility of these robots changes the intensity of interventions and therefore mortality rates during surgery drop. This challenges incumbents in the healthcare industry to develop further and creates opportunities for innovative start-ups and tech giants to emerge in the MedTech industry. By collaborating with governments and research agencies they are able to provide the industry with new insights, products and services (Ugalmugale and Mupid, 2019). Nowadays, robots are already being used in surgeries to assist surgeons and doctors during complex medical interventions. Robotical interventions are being applied in different segments of the healthcare industry, ranging from orthopedic surgery to gynecology surgery. Although there is a lot of progress in the development of these robotics, they are only being used to assist during surgeries. Surgeons are starting to work with robots more and more and therewith are able to provide technicians with helpful feedback. Surgeons, doctors, nurses and hospitals need to adapt to the developing robotical technologies to be able to use these robots effectively. Intensive training and workflow improvements are required (Diana and Marescaux, 2015). The majority of surgeons have been convinced by the recent developments and are willing to adopt surgical robots. In the nearby future, humanoid robots will be able to, under supervision, fully take over the task of surgeons during surgery. Intensive and exhausting surgeries being executed by surgical robots will make sure patients receive more precise healthcare. Surgeons will be able to shift their focus towards other task and people in need of care (Ogden, 2016). However, surgical robots have their price and are under constant development. Therefore, hospitals need to make huge investments in this equipment as well as training for surgeons and medical staff to be able to work with these robots. These high costs might hinder the industry to grow, especially in underdeveloped countries. Technological advancements will have to reduce the prices of these robots to make robotic surgeries available for everyone as quick as possible. As robotic surgery practices are becoming more and more common in the MedTech industry a lot of deaths could be prevented.
References:
Diana, M., and Marescaux, J. (2015) Robotic surgery. British Journal of Surgery, 102(2), e15-e28.
George, E. I. and Brand, C. T. C. (2018). Origins of robotic surgery: from skepticism to standard of care. JSLS: Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, 22(4).
Ogden, C. (2016) The evolution of robotic surgery. Available at:
Click to access 493bb378c1629a5d18788a21888c5ab33035.pdf
Ugalmugale, S. and Mupid, s., (2019) Surgical Robots Market Share | Global Size Forecast Report 2019-2025, Available at: https://www.gminsights.com/industry-analysis/surgical-robots- market
Hi Timo, I agree that this is a very supportive and value-adding technology in the health care sector. In my opinion, especially with increasing demand for medical staff which is difficult to satisfy, at least in Germany (Ärzteblatt, 2009), doctors should be equipped with technology to perform tasks for which human interaction is not needed. Instead, they should be able to actually take more time for diagnostic tasks, pre-operation discussions etc.. With more research and better innovations in that area, I am certain we will be presented with robots that can perform surgeries individually. However, I still think, a doctor would always be needed to oversee the process in case something goes wrong.
Interesting emerging technology, which will probably be implemented further in the future. However, I wonder about the patients perspective. Because humans are not rational, numbers can point to a lower error rate and higher precision, but how would people feel if their life was at stake. I believe people nowadays would still prefer human intervention over robotic intervention, especially for more serious surgical interventions. And I am afraid that this irrationality might slow down the implementation of this new technology.
Hi Bram, I believe you are right. Convincing people to trust these robotics might take many years. Of course people might be skeptical about new technologies when it comes to life and death. By implementing the usage of these robots step-by-step a lot of lives could potentially be saved and skepticism might decrease. However, there is still a long way too go.