Question of the Day, October 28, 2010

The Escapist Staff

The Escapist Staff

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Question of the Day, October 28, 2010



Actroid-F [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/104771-Creepy-Hospital-Droid-Watches-You-When-Youre-Sick] isn't just any old robot. She's a robot specifically designed to hang out with folks who are being treated at a hospital. Though her movements are jerky, and her facial expressions often approach the Uncanny Valley, it's nice to think that patients will have company - no matter how creepy she looks. What do you think about robots in the medical field? Would you want a robot for a doctor?

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Jedamethis

Jedamethis

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FactualSquirrel said:
Jedamethis said:
I suppose it's less likely to mess up and kill me than a normal doctor...
Click to expand...
But what about the robot apocalypse?

And yeah, I can't see the poll...
Click to expand...
What about the doctor apocalypse? Didn't see that coming, DID YOU! HAH!
The evil doctors are trying to turn us into zombies! MONSTERS!

*cough* >.>
 
Samwise137

Samwise137

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I program the darn things. A robot is only as good as the person who told it what to do.
 
FalloutJack

FalloutJack

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If you can invent a robo-doc that operates with better-than-human reflexes and attention to detail...without ANY chance of error that leads to fatality, I'm interested. (But if there's a bit where you have a patient's arm removed due to programming error - completely possible - I don't want anything to do with it.) Unfortunately, since there is yet to be any REAL artifiicial intelligence, I would say that these entirely cool droid nurses are out of luck for real medical practice.
 
Megalodon

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That is one of the creepier things I've seen recently, I'd sure as hell not want that nearby if I was sick.
 
erbkaiser

erbkaiser

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I'll take a robot for anything up to routine surgery, but never for something more complex. Living texture is incredibly complex and a human doctor can respond to unexpected situations, a robot can only do what it is programmed to do.
 
ssManae

ssManae

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Like Samwise, I'll bring you an engineer's perspective:

Robots aren't there yet. It's hard enough for them to recognize solid objects--or even map a room with 100% surety--so recognizing soft tissues that move around? Not going to happen yet. Even surgery on hard tissue is not there yet. It can be done, but requires the patient to literally be screwed to a reference frame (say, a halo around the skull or some markers screwed to the bone) and then scanned medically. The procedure is still designed by a human doctor, and then the robot told to go for it. But if things go wrong, the robot will never know. Marker moved? Scan wasn't (and they're not) perfect? Tough luck. Doctors can make that distinction. In particular, there's a robot being designed for a specific spinal drilling surgery. It's dangerous, but an experienced surgeon can feel if they hit softer bone tissue and avoid a mistake. Robots can't make that tactile distinction yet. So no, robots aren't ready even for routine surgery yet, and are not more precise and foolproof. Steadier hands are more precise, but accuracy matters, too.

I can see robots being effective in some nursing positions, though. They already deliver mail in offices, so switching to medication wouldn't be much of a stretch. So long as the paperwork from the doctors on what to give patients is kept correctly, and the pharmacy is stocked without error, it could reduce some human error in that part. Other parts of that job, not so much, though.

As for the actual android shown, though, I don't see it as a bad thing. Telepresence is gaining a lot of ground, from military drones to bomb disarming. It's also being looked at to allow specialists in rare surgical procedures to be able to operate in remote hospitals instead of bring the patients cross-country (or cross-world) for the procedure. It's even being looked at for use in space. Likewise, this telepresence android can help some when nurses are understaffed or otherwise don't have time to visit every room. The operator doesn't even need to be in the same wing or even hospital, and can check on patients and alert the staff present if anything is wrong.
 
FactualSquirrel

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Jedamethis said:
What about the doctor apocalypse? Didn't see that coming, DID YOU! HAH!
The evil doctors are trying to turn us into zombies! MONSTERS!

*cough* >.>
Click to expand...
Well uhh...
No, I didn't see it coming, I must admit...
 
D

Digikid

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You need to link this forum post PROPERLY to the poll on the front page. As it stands right now clicking on COMMENTS just gives you an error.

That said it depends....it the robot Linux, MacOS or Microsoft? * Shudders at the thought of a Microsoft - powered Robot *
 
trophykiller

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FalloutJack said:
If you can invent a robo-doc that operates with better-than-human reflexes and attention to detail...without ANY chance of error that leads to fatality, I'm interested. (But if there's a bit where you have a patient's arm removed due to programming error - completely possible - I don't want anything to do with it.) Unfortunately, since there is yet to be any REAL artifiicial intelligence, I would say that these entirely cool droid nurses are out of luck for real medical practice.
Click to expand...
Jules isn't happy to hear that. so you know what i'm talking about:

http://www.cracked.com/article_16462_the-7-creepiest-real-life-robots.html

sweet dreams!
 
trophykiller

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Megalodon said:
That is one of the creepier things I've seen recently, I'd sure as hell not want that nearby if I was sick.
Click to expand...
plus, when you're sick, you're easier to overpower, outsmart, and essentially defeat. Easy prey for skynet to take hostage. Just sayin!
 
silver wolf009

silver wolf009

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No, something about the idea of a thing that dosen't share my biology, but that I trust my biology with just unnerves me.

"You ever get an examination with cold, metallic pincers? Not very fun"

Cookie for qoute.
 
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