Robot surgeons, overseen by human doctors, have a lot of advantages compared to the human version. Humans have shaky hands, blurry eyesight, and potentially poor judgement. A robot won’t move unless you knock it over, can see everything perfectly all the time always, and can make the smallest incisions and most precise moves possible, which could make the difference between life and death. On the other hand, there is also the fact that there’s a giant robot spider working on you, and in the case of this gynecologist, handling your family jewels while doing it.
Called the DaVinci, this robot isn’t going to perform “invasive” surgeries yet, and it is operated by a doctor. Right now it’s being used to remove tumors from the uterus, and handle “pelvic issues.” So, why would this even be the domain of robots in the first place? The efficiency and precision of robots mean less blood loss, less recovery time, less pain, less potential damage to sensitive nerves and surrounding organs, and most crucially less risk of infections. In other words, for the areas you most want a doctor to be careful and accurate, you want a robot.
That said, it could use a more friendly appearance; we asked the women of Uproxx their opinion of the DaVinci and we can more or less sum it up with “GAAAAH.” But at least it’s better than the robot made of meat that you swallow. Besides, there’s far more out there already: Da Vinci also comes in urological and colorectal models.
(Via Cosmopolitan)
