Breaking News: An Automated Robotic Drill May Change The Way Craniotomies Are Performed

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZAV1Jo2fztz8oywuQnFKYbXNST2Hu9hxXso7ziqawA2DspdQG8BXQMB1FAzhT5vE_s0FXOmbWcZAbFJL1_vPYzBCCi36zyTjIZ_6bQXNEeo6deDsI05o3O9VFuXnis79E9moFYnq8vs/s1600/Craniotomy+Car+Style.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="416" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8ZAV1Jo2fztz8oywuQnFKYbXNST2Hu9hxXso7ziqawA2DspdQG8BXQMB1FAzhT5vE_s0FXOmbWcZAbFJL1_vPYzBCCi36zyTjIZ_6bQXNEeo6deDsI05o3O9VFuXnis79E9moFYnq8vs/s640/Craniotomy+Car+Style.png" width="640" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <span style="font-size: large;">What do a car and your skull have in common?</span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Probably just carbon and a few other elements. But soon, hospitals across the world may be using the same technology used to drill cars, to perform intricate cranial surgery. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The University of Utah tapped their Mechanical Engineering department to design exactly that: A drill for the skull that can cut into the cranium with such an unparalleled precision. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">While the idea for the machine came from drills used in cars, the version custom-built to perform neurosurgeries was programmed to work with and around the sensitive structures in the brain. In the past, a neurosurgeon would have to slowly, painstakingly, drill at the skull bone with a hand drill <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4480624/" target="_blank"><strong>specifically designed for cranial surgery</strong></a>. This machine, though, takes away the backbreaking work of bone-cutting from the neurosurgeon, allowing him to maintain his focus on the whole operation. </span><br /> <blockquote class="tr_bq"> <span style="font-size: large;"><br />“It was like doing <b><i>archaeology</i></b>. We had to slowly take away the bone to avoid sensitive structures.” </span></blockquote> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">These were the words that Dr. William Couldwell, a neurosurgeon at the University of Utah Health, used to describe the procedure. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">However, hacking at bone is not the be-all and end-all of craniotomies. A craniotomy is but a means to an end: The neurosurgeon still has to get to the actual issue: A brain tumor, an abscess, even a tapeworm in the brain. With all the neurosurgeon’s energy sapped from bone-hacking, you bet that he’d have less focus and sharpness when he has to get into the actual issue. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/lPU8k4bJYa0/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lPU8k4bJYa0?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></span></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">But thanks to Dr. William Couldwell and the mechanical engineers at the University of Utah, soon, neurosurgeons can be freed to focus on the heart of their tasks: Whatever needs to be removed from the brain. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">The machine even has a nifty function: It can cut away and remove large sections of bone. By contrast, the existing tools require gradual chipping, and at smaller points at a time. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">This comes as good news for neurosurgeons, indeed, as with this automated robotic drill, surgeon fatigue would be reduced in leaps and droves. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">For more details, head on over to <a href="http://newatlas.com/robotic-drill-skull-minutes/49297/" target="_blank"><strong>New Atlas</strong></a> and the <a href="https://healthcare.utah.edu/publicaffairs/news/2017/04/drill-neurosurgery.php" target="_blank"><strong>University of Utah’s official press release</strong></a>. </span><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <b>Photo Credits: </b><a href="http://newatlas.com/robotic-drill-skull-minutes/49297/" target="_blank">New Atlas</a><br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=5544835517721897626&postID=3341521348434219844&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9Bov-5jxblscorzGCopVL5Xz68i6dvP9jIudFNjEHqR8MMdmVfysddhDjGUhuvlerb67aHnfQDJEUeUQZ5kjo_Wx4ig1t1Up2WOpNkMj-NaNLwPtxqdA3ez_SOd-1IwiRZWwI2BCbpA/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=780060284859147958&postID=&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMggqAn9B6n_ue3iBOqDQgfJmfpRxWvLyKJRt7IFP17wasPqRAsizTNNHpZHUKMuDMZm5A4duwa4m0IFs-cBh79J03YQVVToXxjf2LZ6qNn4CyLwa8Wy-c4jj2UC8QFH081Ja_q0iaXdM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> --------------------------------------------</div>

cranial surgery craniotomy Dr. William Couldwell Global News Health IT neurosurgery neurosurgery technology robot robotics Robotics and Surgery robots Tech revolutionizing Medicine Technology Breaking News: An Automated Robotic Drill May Change The Way Craniotomies Are Performed

What do a car and your skull have in common? Probably just carbon and a few other elements. But soon, hospitals across the world may b...

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Robot Surgeons? How Robots Will Change The Future Of Medicine

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-Pg8FThJawR6YEso4RLJXac6H9iyL5kq-DB1FWSqZAsdMKef24m7K5qZZhI619XSfytZEVzy3vf1Gb-T6CBm76dfgakWqG9FK2vutbjsH7rPK3-ROl9m9SrHJXt2NElXk7iWtFvyDH8/s1600/Robotic+Surgery.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjl-Pg8FThJawR6YEso4RLJXac6H9iyL5kq-DB1FWSqZAsdMKef24m7K5qZZhI619XSfytZEVzy3vf1Gb-T6CBm76dfgakWqG9FK2vutbjsH7rPK3-ROl9m9SrHJXt2NElXk7iWtFvyDH8/s400/Robotic+Surgery.png" width="400" /></a></div> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;">Believe it or not, humans’ fascination with the concept of humanoid nonliving things serving and doing work for humans (a.k.a. the primitive robot) has <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_robots" target="_blank">dated back to the ancient times</a>. The Greeks have Galatea, while the Jews have golems. Flash forward to modern times, and we can thank Isaac Asimov for the term “robotics.” Later, the human fascination with robots drummed up to a fever pitch starting the 1980’s, and thanks to the hyperspeed pace of tech innovation, we can probably call these years as the years when humans can perfect the robot. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">For one, Japan now has <a href="http://www.droidreport.com/articles/2491/20151007/carrying-robohon-future-mobile-telephony.htm">a smartphone in the shape of a cute little robot</a>. The same guy behind the RoBoHoN, <a href="http://www.robo-garage.com/en/cr/">Tomotaka Takahashi</a>, is also developing <a href="http://www.robo-garage.com/en/prd/index.html">other robots</a>. Meanwhile, in America, <a href="http://www.hansonrobotics.com/">Hanson Robotics</a> made a splash when one of their robot prototypes, Sophia, answered her creator with, “OK, I will destroy humans.” To provide context, Sophia’s creator David Hanson asked her, “Do you want to destroy humans? Please say ‘No.’” Of course, it was a mere joke, and Sophia’s creator David Hanson laughed and cracked another joke by the end of <a href="https://www.seeker.com/realistic-robot-lady-cheerfully-agrees-to-destroy-humans-1771093712.html">the interview</a>. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <center> <span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W0_DPi0PmF0" width="560"></iframe></span></center> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.seeker.com/realistic-robot-lady-cheerfully-agrees-to-destroy-humans-1771093712.html">The interview</a>, conducted in March 2016, was an indicator of where humans were about to take the future of robotics, computing, and artificial intelligence technology. Just months after Sophia was interviewed, reports of robots changing the fashion industry from <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/3067149/is-this-sewing-robot-the-future-of-fashion" target="_blank">clothes</a> to <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/robots-take-over-apparel-production-susanna-koelblin" target="_blank">Adidas shoes</a> have come to fore. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">It’s easy to understand how robots could change industries powered by manual labor and blue collar workers, but Medicine? Surgery? Well, watch this video: </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /> <center> <span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allowfullscreen="true" allowtransparency="true" frameborder="0" height="315" scrolling="no" src="https://web.facebook.com/plugins/video.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fweb.facebook.com%2FScienceNaturePage%2Fvideos%2F1036830663115858%2F&show_text=0&width=560" style="border: none; overflow: hidden;" width="560"></iframe></span></center> <span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">The truth of the matter is that robots are far more precise than a human being’s hand. Not only that, a robot will never be affected by tremors and other human frailties. In short, within the next few decades, surgeons may well become mere robot operators. </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">  </span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;">On the bright side, however, robotics and artificial intelligence are nowhere near the sophistication that they need to be in, just yet. So for the next two or so decades, surgeons may be able to enjoy the fullness of their careers. When the robot surgeons come in full force, though, the milieu will, no doubt, experience a radical overhaul. </span><br />   <br /> <b>Further Reading:</b><br /> <ul> <li><a href="https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/health-medical/robot-surgeon-good-human-still-aide/" target="_blank">Robot Surgeon as Good as a Human, but Still an Aide</a></li> <li><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robot-assisted_surgery" target="_blank">Robot-assisted surgery on Wikipedia</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/job-stealing-robots-millennials-see-hope-fear-cathy-engelbert">Job-Stealing Robots? Millennials See Hope, Fear in Automation</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.technorms.com/47689/the-rush-towards-artificial-intelligence">The Rush Towards Artificial Intelligence: Will AI become our Saviour or Annihilator?</a></li> </ul> <div> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> ***</div> <br /> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Note:</b> Links from LinkedIn may require sign-in.</span></span><br /> <span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><b>Photo Credits: </b><a href="https://www.roboticsbusinessreview.com/health-medical/robot-surgeon-good-human-still-aide/" target="_blank">Robotics Business Review</a>, <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Laproscopic_Surgery_Robot.jpg" target="_blank">Wikipedia</a></span></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><br /> <span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=5544835517721897626&postID=3341521348434219844&target=facebook" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA9Bov-5jxblscorzGCopVL5Xz68i6dvP9jIudFNjEHqR8MMdmVfysddhDjGUhuvlerb67aHnfQDJEUeUQZ5kjo_Wx4ig1t1Up2WOpNkMj-NaNLwPtxqdA3ez_SOd-1IwiRZWwI2BCbpA/s1600/sharefb185.png" /></a> <a href="http://www.blogger.com/share-post.g?blogID=780060284859147958&postID=&target=twitter" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMggqAn9B6n_ue3iBOqDQgfJmfpRxWvLyKJRt7IFP17wasPqRAsizTNNHpZHUKMuDMZm5A4duwa4m0IFs-cBh79J03YQVVToXxjf2LZ6qNn4CyLwa8Wy-c4jj2UC8QFH081Ja_q0iaXdM/s1600/sharetw185.png" /></a></div> <br /> <br /> <div style="text-align: center;"> --------------------------------------------</div> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br /></div>

robot robotics Robotics and Medicine Robotics and Surgery robots Surgery Tech revolutionizing Medicine Technology Robot Surgeons? How Robots Will Change The Future Of Medicine

Believe it or not, humans’ fascination with the concept of humanoid nonliving things serving and doing work for humans (a.k.a. the primit...

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