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UK Docs Perform First Remote-Control Heart Surgery
ByronScott writes "Doctors at a British hospital have just carried out the world's first surgery using a remote-controlled robot. The procedure fixed a patient's irregular heart rhythm, and although the doctor was in the same hospital as the patient — just through the wall in another room — developers of the RC surgery technology believe this is the first step toward long-distance operations. Imagine a doctor in London performing surgery on your heart in New York!"
in the middle of a critical action during a life threatening operation. I'd also be worried about lag as one would assume that some surgical procedures require timely precision.
Until I can get reliably get pings low enough to play intercontinental TF2, I won't want anyone playing Operation Online in my guts, thanks.
From: http://www.pbs.org/wnet/innovation/episode7_essay1.html
Telesurgery made international news on September 7, 2001, when the first transatlantic surgical procedure took place between New York City and Strasbourg, France at a distance of nearly 4,000 miles. Dubbed "Operation Lindbergh" after Charles Lindbergh's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic, the surgery was a landmark in experimental long distance telesurgery.
This was also reported in the BBC News, so the English really should know better: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1552211.stm
Wouldn't you much rather have a skilled surgeon standing over you performing with all of his/her senses, instead of some doctor in London?
All of his/her senses? Hmmm... I think I'd rather they don't use their sense of taste, if that's all the same to everyone else.
Ooh boy, the patient just flatlined! Wait.. nevermind, lagspike. Well, we better be careful- I hear this Comcast service can cost you an arm an a leg.
My webcomic
"I see you're writing a letter..."
or what about the sound windows makes when you plug in or unplug a usb device?
This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.
Coming soon on alt.medicine.heart-surgery...
Ha folks, Sunesh here. I am surgeon at Chennai Instatute of Cardiology and needing to do some bypass. Pls to explaining difference between vain and artery. Patient is already opened, so reply quickly kthank's.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_to_live
" Imagine a doctor in London performing surgery on your heart in New York!"
Yeah, that might happen. Or it might just go the way things already are moving and see some outsourcing to China and India. Which wouldn't have to be all that bad, since (a) you get Western hygiene and staff during the operation and while recovering, and you (may/might) get the benefit of a doctor who treats 10 patients a day and is really, really experienced. This is actually a good reason for Chinese people in The Netherlands to go to China for certain procedures, like operations on joints and other non-life threatening stuff. Whereas a Dutch doctor might treat a few patients a week with and never see arare complication, his Chinese colleague will treat a dozen a day and is likely to have handled that complication several times in the last month. And in this type of surgery, experience matters.
Where I see most use for this though, is to get an expert online for a very difficult surgery, who does the really tricky stuff then leaves the opening and closing procedures to the staff at hand. I think the military might be the biggest users for this type of machinery.
Therefore, by the (faulty) logic you're using, you're just a cow with a keyboard - osu-neko (2604)