Guess what A.I. governs now?

Yes, guessed it right: our lives.

Picture this: a sterile white room with superior beings, a.k.a A.I., a.k.a robots performing surgery on a simpleton. There are two routes this scene can take, one where there is a happily ever after or the other possibility, the possibility Hollywood would relish - A.I. goes haywire and rains hell on the human life on the table with deep red metallic fluid gushing.
This setting would be genuine with one exception; robots don't necessarily perform the surgery but only assist the doctors by providing the needed instruments, guided to precision via a console that a surgeon controls, almost like a gamer would. There is no need to worry, or at least just yet, since A.I. hasn't had to cross doctors off its list of professions to conquer.

The Da Vinci system translates the surgeon's hand movements at the console in real-time, bending and rotating the instruments while performing the procedure.This is similar to you using a game console, except instead of physical movements being translated into virtual reality, the piece of machinery amplifies the doctors' hand movements. The tiny wristed tools move like a mortal hand but have a wider spectrum of motion.

The breakdown:

● The console/control center: While seated at a console unit, the surgeon operates using hand and, surprisingly enough, even foot controls.
● The patient cart: The cart holds surgical instruments and the camera.
● The vision cart: This cart has a video screen for the healthcare provider to monitor the procedure, and let's just say you don't want this component to black out if you're the one on the table.

If you're in a battleground at the borders, pretty sure you can't pull out a high-tech 3D map at command, but you sure can do that and more in Call Of Duty, which the battalions would kill to have. Robotic surgery gives surgeons exactly this on a silver platter; the A.I. surgeon provides highly magnified, 3D high-definition views of the operating area.

The instrument size entitles surgeons to operate through one or a few small incisions, thereby leaving less of a mess and aftermath for the patients to deal with.
The controls are also programmed to reimburse for and filter out any hand tremors from the operating surgeon. So even if your surgeon is well in their nineties, you wouldn't have to hold on to dear life throughout the process because what is A.I. for if not to compensate for our shortcomings as humans? After all, they were called "robota" in Czech for a reason.

A tale of resurgence and skepticism

History narrates an anecdote where all minorities need a leader who can turn things around. The scenario isn’t much different in the case of robotic surgeries too; Da Vinci came to the rescue when things couldn't go any further south.

The 1920s: Origin of the worst nightmare or best fantasy

Robotic surgery was still a protracted way off, but contemporary robotics' notion initiated evolution in the early 1900s. In 1920, Czech writer Karel Capek published a play called "R.U.R." which stands for Rossumovi Univerzaini Roboti or translated into English, "Rossum's Universal Robots."

1930-1969: Rise of the evil Cybermen

During these next few decades, robots were still an idea but were probably being worked on frequently. Fantasy authors also kept fiddling with the concept of super-advanced and sagacious robots and how they might interact with society. In Frank Herbert's Dune saga, robots played a task in the near extinction of humanity. In October 1966, the B.B.C. broadcasted a sequel of episodes of the sci-fi “Doctor Who” featuring robotic creatures called Cybermen.

The 1970s:

During this era, NASA experimented with the thought of telesurgery, or remote surgery as potential support for astronauts while aboard the artificial satellite.
Similarly, the U.S. Defense Research Advanced Projects Agency researched telesurgery for long-distance battlefield surgery. Some refinements were made, but incremental progress wasn't perpetrated until the 2000s.

The 1980s: Point of no return

The first records of robotic surgery were performed thus far within the 80s. Specifically, the primary surgical robot, PUMA 560, was employed in a brain biopsy procedure.
Then in 1988, the PROBOT, developed at the Imperial College London, was accustomed to make several redundant incisions during a notably tedious surgery.

The 1990s: Where and When it all fell into place and Worked out

At the start of the 90s, Integrated Surgical Solutions, Inc. and I.B.M. developed ROBODOC. In 1992, they successfully used ROBODOC to arrange the femur for hip replacement in human subjects.
By the late 90s, engineers had materialized three systems that combined laparoscopic technology with surgical robots. These systems were the sculptor Surgical System, the AESOP, and the Zeus surgical system.

The 2000s: Good, but not good enough

2001 commemorated the Lindinburg Surgery, which was an influential success for telesurgery. Doctors Jacques Marescaux, from France, and Michel Gagner, from Canada, performed a foreign gallbladder removal surgery from big apple City. The patient was in Strasbourg, France, during the procedure.

However, the long distance caused time delays from the control unit to the operating site. While the latency time during the Lindinburg Procedure was 155 milliseconds, the best lag time would be under 100 milliseconds. That will not be much, but try saying that with sinister robotic arms armed with scalpels on you.

The 2010s: The Savior enters and takes away the spotlight

The architect Surgical System has become the field's most prevalent robotic surgery device. One of the foremost prominent milestones occurred in August 2010 when Edward Hospital used the sculptor Surgical System to peel the skin off a grape, which quickly became an online meme.

DaVinci: the Savior of Robots pursuing medicine

But does the fish genuinely need a bicycle?

The answer is a definite yes since I'm pretty sure 775,000 patients worldwide who have had a Da Vinci procedure would respond in the affirmative.
The Da Vinci System is a significant advance over conventional techniques like laparoscopy, where the surgeon performs their job while standing and employs hand-held, long-shafted instruments that are rigid and cannot twist or bend. Traditional laparoscopy requires the surgeon to look up and away from the instruments to a 2D video monitor placed close by to see an image of the target anatomy. Additionally, the surgeon must depend on their patient-side subordinate to position the camera accurately. In contrast, the ergonomic layout of the Da Vinci System enables the surgeon to operate from a relaxed and comfortable position at the console, with their hands and eyes in close proximity to the tools. The surgeon thrusts their hands to move the appliances or reposition the camera.
By providing surgeons with superior vision, enhanced dexterity, more eminent exactitude, and convenience, the Da Vinci Surgical System allows more surgeons to perform minimally intrusive procedures involving intricate and fragile dissection or reconstruction.

Being the first robotic surgical platform commercially available in the U.S. to be cleared by the F.D.A. (Food and Drug Administration) for general surgery, the Da Vinci has rapidly become quite the popular kid.
Having installed more than 1,700 Da Vinci Systems, Hospitals seem to concur that the fish certainly needs a bicycle.

The bad, the worse, and the sinister

The long list heralding the Da Vinci starts to emerge as a facade as soon as liabilities unravel, and this list is anything but inconsequential.

Scissors don't just slash; they burn too.

The manufacturer of the Da Vinci robot, Intuitive Surgical, Inc., published a warning in May 2013 warning surgeons and patients of the risk associated with the electrical scissors (EndoWrist Hot Shears [Monopolar Curved Scissors]) used during Da Vinci surgery. The electrical scissors are used to cut and cauterize tissue during procedures. The risk occurs when micro-cracks develop in the protective insulation, electricity arcs and burns tissue outside the surgical area.

The cover-up

Researchers have found that the number of injuries and deaths associated with Da Vinci robotic surgery systems may be under-reported. Over the course of 12 years, the F.D.A. received just under 250 reports of incidents related to robotic surgery. Investigators later found additional instances reported in the media or elsewhere but were never officially registered to the F.D.A.
Well, at least A.I. is not the sole evil to roam this earth without consequences, as previously assumed.

But the trap door at rock bottom officially opened only when many patients were elated with the results of their Da Vinci Robot surgery, but others had encountered strenuous complications resulting in grave medical injuries which may be long-term, debilitating, and expensive.

Accidents aren't the only ones shooting through the roof

The cost of using the Da Vinci robotic surgery system can be high. For the patient, it is not less expensive than others but is generally $3,000 to $6,000 more than laparoscopic procedures. It becomes even more pricey if complications occur and other procedures like open surgery are needed.

Despite the challenges regarding costs and liability for injuries, Intuitive Surgical, the Da Vinci manufacturer, sells more units and has upwards of $700 million in annual revenue. The firm is still dealing with a number of lawsuits regarding injuries caused by the equipment and as the number of Da Vinci procedures continues to rise, additional cases may be expected.

A Resurrection of remote robotic surgery

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting worker shortages, remote surgery could be making a comeback. Latency times between the operating surgeon and the remote patient can be improved as 5G networks continue to improve, which can compensate for short-staffed hospitals and surgery centers.

The Reign of terror doesn't seize.

As the field of robotics grows, more and more companies are experimenting and developing robotic technologies that could be applied to surgery. In 2021, Johnson & Johnson announced that they were working on a surgical system, Ottava to rival Intuitive Surgical's Da Vinci robot. Other companies continue to make improvements and advancements with their specialized robotic systems.

At the end of the day....

How can we be sure that the fish is only getting a cycle and not a car since robotic surgery has skipped more than a couple of ranks and advanced faster than an orthodox medical intern.