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Over the past few decades, robots have increasingly been integrated into various industries to assist humans with tasks that are dull, dangerous, or difficult to perform. One area where robots are playing a growing role is in healthcare, with the development of medical robots designed to improve patient outcomes and help overworked healthcare providers. From assisting in surgeries to aiding rehabilitation, robots are enhancing the delivery of care.
Surgical Assistance
Some of the most common medical robots currently in use are surgical robots that provide enhanced dexterity, precision, and visualization during complex operations. Da Vinci surgical systems, for example, allow surgeons to perform minimally invasive procedures through small incisions using robotic arms. The robotic systems filter hand tremors and allow 10X magnification of the surgical site. This improves surgical accuracy and allows procedures that once required large incisions or even open surgery to be performed using keyhole methods. Surgical robots have been shown to reduce blood loss, postoperative pain, scarring, recovery times and the risk of certain surgical complications compared to traditional laparoscopic or open surgeries. Their adoption is growing rapidly within specialties like urology, gynecology and general surgery.
Rehabilitation Support
Medical robots are also helping patients recover through rehabilitation therapy. Exoskeleton robots designed for physical therapy give increased muscle activation, repetitive motion training and measurable progress feedback to patients recovering from injuries or conditions limiting mobility like stroke. For instance, KINOVA’s JACO robot arm attaches beneath a patient’s arm to guide repetitive reaching and grasping motions, aiding rehabilitation of fine motor skills. The robot can adapt resistance levels and record improvements in range of motion and strength over time. Such robots allow patients to attend more intensive therapy sessions, helping them regain functionality faster after things like joint replacement surgery or spinal cord injuries.
Telemedicine Advances
Advancements in telemedicine technologies facilitated by medical robots are helping deliver healthcare to more remote populations. Robots with telepresence capabilities allow doctors to examine, and even perform procedures on, patients from distances away. For example, the RP-VITA system from InTouch Health includes a mobile robot with high-definition cameras, microphones and speakers that can be controlled remotely by clinical staff. A physician can drive the robot to the patient’s bedside for a virtual visit, examinations and consultations via the two-way video and audio feed. This “telemedicine robot” enables quality care to be extended to rural clinics and hospitals without specialist physicians on site. In the future, such robots may even transport clinicians virtually into emergency or disaster situations. The ability to provide remote medical expertise has huge potential for expanding access to care.
Diagnostic and Screening Applications
Medical robots are finding new applications in diagnostics and disease screening as well. capsule robots or “ingestible sensors” are being developed that can be swallowed to examine the GI tract from the inside and potentially detect conditions like Crohn’s disease or cancers. Other robotic technologies like MRI-guided biopsy robots increase the accuracy and rate at which biopsies can be performed, while reducing risks to patients. The DA Vinci biopsy robot, for example, takes CT or MRI images as reference to pinpoint suspicious tissue for extraction and analysis. Microscopic “nanobots” that can be injected into the bloodstream also show promise for detecting early-stage cancers by cellular changes. As diagnostic robots get smaller, smarter and more sophisticated, they will continue transforming screening and allowing conditions to be caught at earlier, more treatable stages.
The Future of Medical Robotics
As the capabilities of medical robots grow, entirely new applications and specialties are emerging. Scientists are developing soft, flexible robots inspired by octopuses that could one day be used for natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgeries through openings like the mouth or reproductive organs, reducing trauma. Bionic or augmented-reality prosthetics interface directly with patients’ nervous systems will restore abilities. Outside the hospital, assistive robots will aid the elderly and disabled populations with tasks of daily living to help them maintain independence at home. With continued advances in fields like artificial intelligence, materials science, sensor tech and surgical simulation, robotics will only become more integrated into all aspects of healthcare delivery. In the coming decades, robots will undoubtedly transform medical practice and improve quality of both patients’ lives and providers’ work. As their societal benefits become clearer, widespread adoption of helpful robotic technologies will surely follow.
In summary, medical robots is a fast-growing field that will revolutionize healthcare over the coming decades. From surgical to rehabilitative applications, diagnostic tools and telemedicine systems, robots are already demonstrating their potential to improve patient outcomes, expand access to care and help address provider shortages. As the capabilities of robots continue advancing rapidly in areas like precision, mobility, sensing, intelligence and user-friendliness, entirely new possibilities for assisting humans in health and healthcare delivery will emerge. Overall, robotic technologies will power immense progress in medicine to the benefit of public health worldwide.
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1. Source: Coherent Market Insights, Public sources, Desk research
2. We have leveraged AI tools to mine information and compile it
