Research project report regarding Industrial Applications

Introduction

REMOTE SURGERY

August 2020

1 Abstract

Technology is changing every aspect of life. The field of healthcare is currently incorporating various technology concepts to enhance the efficiency of services. On this note, a current aspect which has emerged in contemporary society is the remote surgery. Remote surgery allows surgeons to operate remotely and give other health professionals instructions and carry out the operation in their absence. Therefore, the technology the concept of augmented reality makes it easy for professionals to avoid the need for robots. There have been concerns regarding the effectiveness of the given technology in healthcare. However, remote surgery is essential now that it ensures that operations are accomplished without unnecessary depending on the surgeon’s intervention. Nevertheless, it presents the problem around safety issues due to the possible misinterpretation of data and communication latency.

2 Introduction

Networking is an essential subfield in information technology, which fast gain- ing significance in every sector. With the rise of advances in networking tech- nology, other sectors have demonstrated interest in using products from this information technology field. This reflects the practicality of the relationship between different areas. The contemporary significance of networking manifests in the application of technology in healthcare through the technology of remote surgery (Cheung, Healy, and Walsh, 2016). Remote surgery is the application of technology by a healthcare professional to perform surgery on patients even without being present physically. While healthcare providers and patients have embraced technology, there are arising controversial issues now that people have varying opinions over technology. Consequently, researchers have demonstrated interest in conducting studies on the topic. The need to understand the issue, remote surgery, as an industrial application of networking, prompts this report’s writing. The report presents a discussion of the development, significance, and challenges associated with the technology as experienced in healthcare.

3 Development

The concept of remote surgery has been in the field of healthcare for over four decades. The technology involves the use of experimental robots to conduct surgery remotely. The success of applying technology depends on the capabil- ity of specific professionals and the equipment they have. Some surgeries have been managed for a distance of over 400km. The process is performed by giving instructions through a computer terminal with the necessary intervention of the given surgeon. The current technology has been facilitated by the advent of augmented reality (AR), which makes it possible for remote surgery to be ac- complished without employing robots. Cheung Healyand Walsh (2016) felt that this involves the collaboration between two surgeons who reside from different locations, and using computer devices to communicate to professionals; occur- ring when they cannot meet physically. Therefore, the technology is improving efficiency whereby lags are reduced now that lag and having to wait too long to receive a related healthcare service is avoided. With the development currently achieved, many ethical issues emerge; it is challenging to trust the patient’s safety now that the professionals in charge are not available during the process.

4 Significance

The technology has made it possible to enhance surgery to patients over a long distance. Surprisingly, it has led to improved access to patients who need surgery operations. On the same note, it has helped avoid the struggle to fight the shortage of surgery professionals, which has long been experienced for many years. It has also allowed the efficiency of work whereby many surgeons can attend to a single patient. An additional benefit of the technology is that it provides all the stakeholders involved with good choices. This is especially important, especially on patients’ side; it has consequently led to a considerable measure of the quality of services offered. The aspect of choice corresponds to the concept of autonomy whereby patients may have control over where they need to be attended to; it allows professionals to carry out surgery to patients irrespective of where they are, as long as there are sufficient facilities (Hadavand, Mirbagheri, Behzadipour and Farahmand, 2013). Therefore, it is hardly limited by the problem of transportation since professional executes instructions from their comfort zones, and it happens successfully. Moreover, it has helped reduce the cost of surgery, therefore, accommodating almost all patients. This is mostly due to the relatively low cost and eases of deployment.

5 Challenges

The main challenge associated with remote surgery is derived around the safety of patients. The given practice is related to limited protection as far as the welfare of the patients is concerned. The problems around security have resulted since the process has been trusted concerning autonomy. It has been argued that

surgery can be accomplished with the limited intervention of health professionals assigned a specific exercise. However, it is essential to note that the instructions may not be well interpreted; hence the activity does not occur according to the specifications. Gaunt (2016) argued that the exercise may only be precise if inputs from the surgeons are implemented just as received. It is important to note that operations embraced towards surgery are considered to live processes; approaches tend to change, and application may go wrong. It is, therefore, possible that a surgeon from a remote location can make potential mistakes. The mistakes made may not be rectified since the instructions could be implemented immediately. The error may mean that the safety of the patients under surgery could be compromised (Fricke and Konstantinov, 2019). There is also latency; data transmission may delay; hence, healthcare intervention may not be efficient. It is not guaranteed that the instructions and response shared will reach the recipients in time. The speed of data transmission depends on the strength of the signal. Therefore, it may not be helpful to the patents for which the operation is being undertaken.

6 Conclusions

Remote is one of the most considerable advancements in healthcare, whereby surgeons can execute operations without having to intervene physically. The healthcare technology has been practiced for many decades and still serve as among the most progressive approaches. The technology is effective and can be accomplished over long distances; therefore, it is not limited by geographical space. The practice guarantees several choices to all stakeholders and pomes the autonomy principles, whereby patients contribute significantly in making choices. Moreover, the technique involves many professionals irrespective of their locations; the number implies that decision making could be informed now that many stakeholders are involved. Nevertheless, safety issues have been experienced as it depends on the surgeon’s accuracy, who is communicating with the professionals practically involved. Further challenges are due to the problem of latency, which may lead to delayed communication, further compromising the efficiency of the exercise

7 References

Cheung, C., Healy, D. and Walsh, S., 2016. Remote preconditioning and cardiac surgery: regrouping after Remote Ischemic Preconditioning for Heart Surgery (RIPHeart) and Effect of Remote Ischemic Preconditioning on Clini- cal Outcomes in Patients Undergoing Coronary Artery Bypass Surgery (ER- ICCA). Journal of Thoracic Disease, [online] 8(3), pp.E197-E199. Available at:

¡https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27076969/¿.

Fricke, T. and Konstantinov, I., 2019. Commentary: A paradox of remote ischemic preconditioning: Remote understanding, remote relevance, and remote

future?. The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, [online] 157(4),

pp.1477-1478. Available at: ¡https://www.researchgate.net/publication/328441791_Aparadox_of_remote_ische

.

Gaunt, M., 2016. Time for reassessment of remote ischaemic precondi- tioning. British Journal of Surgery, [online] 103(4), pp.319-321. Available at:

¡https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26891210/¿.

Hadavand, M., Mirbagheri, A., Behzadipour, S. and Farahmand, F., 2013. A novel remote center of motion mechanism for the force-reflective master robot of haptic tele-surgery systems. The International Journal of Medical Robotics and Computer Assisted Surgery, [online] 10(2), pp.129-139. Available at: ¡https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/rcs.1515¿.