Posted on 11/16/2018 6:14:05 AM PST by deandg99
In the name of scientific progress, Newcastles Freeman Hospital in the United Kingdom recently tried to pioneer the use of a surgical robot that it tasked with repairing a patients damaged heart valve, only to have the machine go completely bonkers and ultimately kill the man on the operating table.
According to reports, this first-time-use robot not only physically assaulted a living medic while attempting to conduct its programmed surgery, but also implanted stitches into the patients heart in a manner that physicians present during the fiasco described as not being in an organised fashion.
A situation that can only be described as total chaos, with human surgeons, doctors, and nurses having to scream at each other in order to overcome the tinny sound coming from the robot as they were trying to control it, the attempted surgery ended up being nothing short of a complete failure. And in the end, retired music teacher and conductor, Stephen Pettitt, the guinea pig patient in this medical experiment, ultimately lost his life.
(Excerpt) Read more at dcdirtylaundry.com ...
Jah, Jah-— those precision german/chinese gear heads with incredible faith in autonomous ...... programming.
Faith in programming..... faith in programmers and in machinery that is not.... guided by a trained HUMAN surgeon.
But National Health System loves this because it “eliminates” liability they don’t have for their actions— blame it on the “machine”.
Father in law had Laparoscopic (assume robotically assisted) Aortic valve replacement through a small hole (no chest cracking).
Would like to know what machine this was, and how with any sense of conscience the UK NHS would allow this to continue.
“Crush, kill, destroy!”
Who programmed that thing, Dr. Smith?
“Their analysis, published in the BMJ on Tuesday, shows that medical errors in hospitals and other health-care facilities are incredibly common and may now be the third-leading cause of death in the United States claiming 251,000 lives every year, more than respiratory disease, accidents, stroke and Alzheimer’s.”
http://www.hospitalsafetygrade.org/what-is-patient-safety/errors-injuries-accidents-infections
Remember this is Britain. NIH probably told him he could be a guinea pig for a robot doctor or wait another 5 years for a human doctor.
These form an organizing principle and unifying theme for Asimov's robotic-based fiction, appearing in his Robot series, the stories linked to it, and his Lucky Starr series of young-adult fiction.
[source: wikipedia: Three Laws of Robotics]
“Seems we are heading toward surgeons who think they can just press a button and get paid, outcome not their concern nor fault in their minds.”
Unfortunately there are two professions which are self policing - doctors and lawyers. Both do a lousy job of rooting out the incompetents.
Many doctors are egotists. Any doctor who would engage in heart surgery with a robot, knowing he has not gone through the proper training, is an egotist and incompetent to be licensed to practice medicine.
The supervisors who left in the middle of this trial procedure were also incompetent and should have their licenses revoked.
If real journalism existed in this day and time there would be a follow up story telling the public how those “accountable” for this tragedy had been disciplined. Unfortunately, when government bureaucrats are “responsible” there is no accountability.
And self driving cars kill.
I had abdominal laparoscopic surgery with the da Vinci robot in May. Researched it first, and studies show better outcomes than regular laparoscopic surgery. My surgeon has used it daily for yearsprefers it. Apparently its like having 4 hands and the robot can make very precise movements.
There will be a choice given to patients while the AI and robotic stuff is worked out.
“ms. Smith, will you have robot or no robot for the surgery this morning.”
Surgical robots will now be required in the U.K. for pensioners.
I’ve had 3 different abdominal lap surgeries ...all successful. Far preferable to plain old open surgery. Da Vinci sounds like a good deal for the precision, minimally invasive and faster recovery time. Hope I never have to use it but would definitely seek a dr with a lot of experience.
You beat me to it.
I do not feel badly for the departed gentleman.
He played Russian Roulette and lost.
At some point in the decision he figured he was not worth the saving. Otherwise, he would have insisted on a non-robotic surgery.
The only time you go to drastic measurements is when you absolutely have to do so. Anything less than that is a Suicide Request.
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