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greenmachine11235 t1_j8dwcs2 wrote

Makes sense, even the best surgeon is only human and is limited by human range of motion and endurance. A robot can hold a position infinitely or move in ways no human joint could with precision no human can match.

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PolychromeMan t1_j8ef1vz wrote

I think over time, as the speed at which robots can make decisions and perform surgical tasks increases, they will get better and better. Being able to perform an operation in a few minutes rather than a couple of hours seems much less invasive for the patients body to deal with.

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HeartlessGoose t1_j8fhg0h wrote

I think you fundamentally misunderstand what the robot in the article is. It doesn’t make decisions or performs surgical tasks. It’s a mechanical arm attached to a bone saw that prevents the surgeons from straying outside of the predefined surgical field— like bowling with bumper rails.

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PolychromeMan t1_j8fm7oe wrote

oh sorry. You are correct. I remember articles from years ago that implied Mako robots did partial and full knee replacement surgery, not ASSISTED with that type of surgery.

(I still think robots that can perform misc surgery extremely quickly will help improve things, but that may be decades away, of course)

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SterlingVapor t1_j8g0j9u wrote

Hopefully not decades, it's less than 5 years away (and hopefully doesn't stay that way)

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Mecha_Goose t1_j8gey5t wrote

The trick is no one really wants to be the test subject of the beta version of that robot.

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TenesmusSupreme t1_j8g1jfr wrote

Surgical robots have been around for decades. Mako has struggled to get sales and was bought by Stryker in 2013 mainly as a way for them to place more Stryker implants in knees. While there may be some minor benefits of precise measuring, the small benefits may not outweigh the costs. It’s hard to find a successful Mako program at any hospital. With daVinci, the costs increase while the benefits may not justify it. I’m all for advancing healthcare with surgical platforms, but robotic instruments are not always the answer. They still have a place in the OR… just not front and center as the public might think.

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