Robots in medicine
Iron mechanisms instead of living doctors
Maxim Mayorov, "Scientific Russia"
Having appeared in healthcare only a few decades ago, iron doctors quickly became in demand and have now firmly established themselves in its various industries. Surgery, therapy, diagnostics, assistance to patients and staff — this is not a complete list of medical specialties in which they already work, providing significant support to doctors and patients.
Today, one of the branches of medicine in which they are widely used is surgery. There they are used in minimally invasive operations — operations with a minimum number of skin incisions that do not require the highest qualification from the device and at the same time reduce blood loss and the risk of infection, ensuring a rapid recovery of the patient in the future. In addition, unlike a human, the robot has a much larger range of movements, which makes it possible to perform complex operations in hard-to-reach places.
Thus, the Da Vinci medical robotic system, created in the USA, has four manipulators with artificial wrists having seven degrees of freedom, and a 3D monitor. Thanks to this, it is able to copy, scale and monitor the work of a surgeon outside the operating unit, blocking accidental or dangerous movements if necessary.
Da Vinchi Robotic System
Robotic medical complexes, such as, for example, AST (Assisted Surgical Technologies) robot surgeon, are also available in Russia. "AST is a fundamentally new surgical robot that is not a copy of any other present on the market, with the possibility of expansion for specific tasks," explains one of its developers, one of the leading urologists of the Russian Federation, Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences Dmitry Pushkar.
Compared to its foreign counterparts, it does not require expensive tools and special production equipment. At the same time, it is compact and has extensive capabilities: it can perform operations in the abdominal cavity, gynecology, urology, neuro- and cardiac surgery and even plastic surgery.
AST Robot Surgeon
Therapy
Another area of development of medical robotics is therapy. In classical medicine, a therapist is a primary care physician who, based on the analysis of primary external and internal signs, makes a preliminary diagnosis. But gradually, robots are also taking over his duties.
Now all the information is collected not by a doctor, but by special sensors located throughout the body and, in case of detection of certain diseases, transmitting data about them to doctors. This is how the Google Fit system works: sensors embedded in clothes, shoes, glasses and bracelets collect and send biometric data to the Baseline database around the clock. Based on the collected information, the system will be able to identify signs of possible diseases and, if necessary, report them to the appropriate specialist.
Another option is also possible: when the system not only collects data itself, but also makes a diagnosis instead of a doctor. An example of such a device is the IBM Watson system, which processes all information about a person, starting with the study of the issue and ending with the evaluation of the results obtained. Thanks to this, she is able to recognize the signs of any disease.
Similar devices are available in Russia. The Tulinovsky Instrument-Making Plant, located in the Tambov region, has developed a device capable of determining the main indicators of human health: weight, height, temperature, pulse rate and blood pressure, and a number of other indicators. If necessary, he can also give recommendations on nutrition.
Sitting in a chair in front of the screen, the patient applies a finger, a whole hand or a forehead to the sensors surrounding him from all sides. Collecting and processing information takes less than one minute. The device evaluates the condition of the body as a whole and, if necessary, gives recommendations for its improvement.
Robot therapist from Tambov
However, the general condition and diet is not limited to. "If desired, the complex can be equipped with a blood alcohol content meter, the ability to assess the degree of hearing and flat feet," Evgeny Solodkov, General Director of Tulinovsky Instrument—Making Plant TVES, explained in an interview with VESTI/Tambov. The device is planned to be placed in crowded places, for example, large shopping malls or enterprises where regular medical examination of workers — pilots, machinists, drivers, as well as representatives of other specialties is required.
Diagnostics
Diagnostic robots are no less in demand in medicine. For example, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, a small robot Skinbot V was designed, which performs skin diagnostics. It is equipped with suction cups, a miniature lamp and a microscope, data from which can be downloaded anywhere — cloud storage, tablet, smartphone, computer.
Using the built-in gyroscope, Skinbot V determines the mobility of the area under study and, based on the information received, builds a route and selects the most optimal place for fixing. After that, the studied area is studied by a neural network for the presence of psoriasis, skin parasites, melanoma and other skin diseases, and thanks to the presence of a microscope, they can be detected at the earliest stage
The Russian RoboScan complex performs ultrasound scanning in an automated mode: ultrasound is performed according to an internal protocol along a pre-laid trajectory, depending on the study area and the readings of various sensors. Access to the information obtained during the survey can be obtained by the appropriate specialist, regardless of the place and time, using only standard software.
Thus, all routine data collection work using the robot is formalized, standardized and can be performed under the control of mid-level medical personnel. This, in turn, reduces the burden on doctors, who can focus on studying the data, describing them and forming a conclusion.
"The introduction of the RoboScan solution into clinical practice will accelerate the digitalization of the ultrasound industry, improve the quality of diagnostics, reduce the burden on doctors and provide qualified assistance where there is a shortage of specialists," explains project manager Artem Badriev.
New features
Scientific and technological progress does not stand still and now, in addition to surgery, therapy and diagnostics, robots have found application in other areas of medicine. These are disinfection, staff training, prosthetics, routine operations like registering patients, working with electronic cards, providing background information, delivering medicines, tools, laundry, food and much more.
They work not only outside, but already inside the human body. There was a wide field of activity for them here: delivery of medicines to the affected tissues and organs, examination and constant monitoring of the work of vital organs, targeted destruction of viruses and cancer cells, cleaning of blood vessels from plaques and much more.
For example, scientists at the ITMO National Research University have created a highly sensitive nanorobot made of DNA molecules designed to search for viruses. It contains 215 nucleotides — elementary structural units of DNA and RNA. To find out if there is an infection in the sample, you need to add a solution with a DNA system and a substance that can glow to visualize the result. DNA robots have been tested for COVID-19, but in the future they can be adapted to search for other viruses.
The massive use of robots is expected to radically change healthcare within the next decade. Experts suggest that in the near future, artificial intelligence will take on more and more responsibilities — data processing, development of new drugs and treatment methods, establishing remote interaction with the patient and much more.
And in the more distant future, robots will completely replace people and we need to be ready for this right now. "This is not even a matter of technical components, it all depends on how quickly the community and regulatory systems will accept this opportunity," he said in an interview. RB.ru Mikhail Yugai, General Director of the International Medical Cluster Foundation.
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