Automation in Medicine: Humans vs. Machines
Robots don't need vacations. Unlike humans, they don't get tired. Whether serving as a robotic scrub nurse, a miniature mobile sewing machine, or a remotely controlled surgical arm equipped with a high-speed CT scanning eye, bots offer some real advantages over humans. They can maneuver into tight anatomical spaces, require only small keyhole incisions for access, and are less likely to contaminate the field. Robots are also less likely to complain about bad lighting, table height, and room temperature. Unlike most humans, they have no life at all outside the hospital (although this is true for some physicians).
Newer cameras allow robotic assistants to respond to hand gestures. Surgeons can use hand signals to bring up an imaging study or electronic medical record data into view, without touching a thing. Similar gesture-sensing technology is available in consumer electronic games that track hand movements in 3-D space.
Have You Met Dr. Watson?
Robots are not the only high-tech newcomers to medicine. Enter Watson, the artificial intelligence supercomputer from IBM. It processes natural-language questions and scours massive databases looking for answers. After beating uber-contestant Ken Jennings at Jeopardy , Watson went to medical school at both Columbia and University of Maryland. Watson will spend a few years learning about the types of diagnostic and therapeutic questions that arise in clinical practice. Is it possible that unearthing facts buried within massive volumes of medical journals and other data can support tailored clinical decision-making for an individual patient? Maybe we will find out in a few years.
Humans Behind the Machines
Famed heart surgeon Michael DeBakey (who is from my hometown) learned to stitch from his mother, a seamstress and sewing teacher. He described the thrill of sewing his first synthetic bypass grafts by hand. He went on to invent dozens of machines and surgical instruments that are now commonplace in medicine. I am reminded that behind all these great mechanical and electronic innovations are real human beings. When it comes to beside manner-actively listening, expressing genuine caring, and delivering encouragement—the vast majority of human clinicians have the clear advantage over robots, hands down. Don't you think?
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