ITGS Health Past Paper

In many hospitals around the world, surgeons are performing surgery with the assistance of robots. Robot surgery has been taken a step further with surgeons being able to use remote-controlled robots to perform surgery on patients thousands of miles away (Scheeres 2001).

Source: Google images, www.cooley-dickinson.org/.../north-building/

a) Identify one input and one output device used in robotic surgery. 2 marks

b) Describe one capability and one limitation of the robot when used in surgery. 4 marks

c) Describe two extra features that would be needed for the robot in surgery to be described as an expert system. 4 marks

d) Discuss one economic concern, one reliability concern and one other concern for patients undergoing robotic surgery. Evaluate the significance of these concerns. 10 marks

Answers:

a.)

Input: Joystick to control the movement of the robotic arms

Output: Robotic hand to hold the different tools

b.) Robots are capable of executing operations for very long hours. Unlike humans, robots dont experience fatigue, and this allows the robots to make accurate operations for long hours. A limitation for robots used in surgery is the fact that robots are programmed. Robots dont have brains, and they obviously cannot function like humans. Therefore, if the patient goes through a sudden heart failure during an operation, robots would not be able to react to the sudden life-threatening occurrence.

c.) A feature robots will need in order to be considered a expert system would be the knowledge obtained from the experts. The knowledge contains all the information about the operation and this would make robotic surgery considered as an expert system. Another feature would be an input system that allows surgeons to input the knowledge the robot needs in order to execute the operation throughly and accurately.

d.) The economic concern will be that robotic surgery will require more money than human surgery. Robots can make more precise cuts during surgery and many people believe that robotic surgery is more reliable and efficient. The robots itself are professionaly programmed and are extremely expensive and it is likely that robotic surgery is more expensive than human surgery. The patient may not want to have his/her surgery done by a robot when it is more expensive and still is error prone.

Patients will probably encounter reliability concerns regarding the robot surgery. Although the robot makes precise cuts, there are still possibilities of glitches or breakdowns during the process of the surgery. As mentioned before, a limitation for the robotic surgery is that they dont have the brains like a human, so if the patient experiences sudden heartattacks, the robot would not be able to make the sudden decisions.

Another concern a patient will encounter is a safety issue. Patients may not feel safe from being operated by machines. This is a psychological effect, in which the anxiety level increases when being operated by robots not humans. Though slightly related to the reliability issue, the patient may not trust the robotic surgery, and result in anxiety attacks before the surgery. This may effect the patient during surgery and it may interrupt the whole process of the surgery.

December 7th 2010- Online Diagnosis

Our main focus in todays class was the topic of Online Diagnosis. Online diagnosis is fairly self-explanatory, and it refers to the diagnosis from "online doctors". By inputing necessary information (symptoms) in the search engine of the certain website, the computer makes the diagnosis of your possible disease/disorder. Online diagnosis is popular for its free services. You can get diagnoses' for free and by paying extra, you can get further, detailed diagnoses' of you possible disease. Some patients may feel embarrassed or shy during face-to-face consultations, so online diagnosis is very beneficial for such individuals. The advantages of Online Diagnosis are the conveniency and availability. Since the diagnosis is done on the web (internet), you can access the page24/7. As mentioned earlier, it is also free and fast. Patients do not need to spend money on transportation fees to go see a doctor in town, instead, they can get a diagnosis done online. Though online diagnosis may sound very advantageous, there are still many issues to consider. Equality of access is probably the one foremost important issue. Online diagnosis cannot be carried out without a computer and without a computer, the whole concept is useless. People without access to the internet or even people without a computer cannot perform online diagnosis. Another issue is reliability. Since computers are prone to glitches, the online diagnosis may provide you with false or misleading diagnosis'.

Article of the day:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/10340/1108273-114.stm

Video: A video discussing the dangers of Online Diagnosis

Reflection December 3rd 2010

Electronic Medical Records (EMR)

Today we learned about EMR, acronym for Electronic Medical Records refers to the paperless medical records used in many hospitals.

The information is accessible through a LAN to the doctor who is able to retrieve the data and use it.
Paper based records are still the recommended method of recording the patients data due to its reliability, computer based recording methods are more efficient and secure. The biggest issue for EMR is security. The database needs to remain secured and confidential so the data isnt tampered in any way. The most common and effective solution to the problem of security is by incorporating personal identification systems such as biometrics. Creating usernames and passwords are equally effective, and it certainly maintains the confidentiality of the database. Another common issue is reliability. Compared to the paper based medical records, the computer based system is less reliable. Glitches and mal-funtions are inevitable for computers. The database must function properly so the data isnt lost and so it remains accurate. As mentioned earlier, paper-based records are prefered since they are less prone to errors, but EMR (computer based systems) is equally recommended due to its efficiency. The advantages of EMR is that it is easier to retrieve, access, and read data. Diagnosis' of the patients are also more faster and efficient. The patients are easily identified since everything is computer based. the major disadvantages of EMR is that the data may be accessed to third party members if the database is intruded. The software itself is extremely expensive and complex and it is very time consuming to train the nurses on how to use the software.

Reflection: November 23rd 2010

In todays class, we learned at discussed the topic telemedicine. Telemedicine is the application of clinical medicine in which medical information can be transferred through interactive media for consulting examinations. This can happen in different ways. A patient and doctor can have discussion over the telephone or even through a webcam (videoconferencing). The biggest issue regarding telemedicine is the equality of access. The equipment can be pretty costly and not every hospital can afford such necessary components. The issue of equality of access is very common in the medical industry. Many of the components of a device in the medical industry is very expensive and the globalization of the device takes years. The advantages of such device is that both the patient and doctor save a lot of money and the patients can receive detailed examinations of their condition.

Article of the day:

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2010/11/22/prsa1122.htm

Video:

November 29th 2010 - Robot Pills

Today in class, we studied the use of robot pills in the medical industry and the issues and IT systems used in the device. Robot pills are also known as nanotechnology, and it enables the doctors to see the patients body with a pill that the patient drinks. The pill contains a camera and a navigation system that allows the pill to make its way through around the body without muchdifficulty. The sensors in the pill allows the pill to detect the surroundings. The pill swallowed by the patient travels through the gastronomical tract, and with the miniature camera, diagnosis and surgery is possible. The robot pills controlled from the outside of the body actually makes surgery less evasive, safer, faster and more efficient. The biggest issue/concern regarding the robot pill is the reliability of the pill and its functions. Breakdowns of the pill when inside the body is dangerous for the patient. The robot pill has to function properly without any glitches, and the surgeon needs to have total control of the pill during surgery. It must also make sure that the tissue is not damaged due to the robot’s operation inside the body. Another big issue is the equality of access of the pill. Not all hospitals have such advanced technology and it will definitely take years for most of the hospitals to incorporate robot pills. As for now, only the developed countries have access to robot pills, and it will be a challenge for all hospitals worldwide to have access to such technology.

Article of the day:

http://singularityhub.com/2010/12/01/super-fast-fanuc-robot-sorts-candy-according-to-color-video/

Although this article is not on Robot Pills, the article discusses robots handling, and distributing pills.