“Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity”. Said perfectly by one of the most outstanding figures in the development of medicine was Hippocrates from ancient Greece. Reading this quote I do not think that even with the knowledge, vision and advancements Hippocrates made in medicine, that he could ever imagine that the evolution of new “opportunities” and the future of medicine would include not only such great human development but also such vast technology including robotics. As technology advances and the use of robots in integrated in such a vast variety of fields from automobile manufacturing, to home entertainment, to even the field of healthcare and medicine, in which the progress is rapid and the
The number of hours that this robotic automation in teaching and hands on training can significantly be streamlined. Time, expense and resource efficiencies can be further created by the use of robotics based technologies in medical teaching. More and more universities and medical schools are using medical simulators for teaching and training programs. Most large medical training centres and hospitals, as well as many medical schools, possess at least one, if not multiple, medical simulators. A number of well known medical centres, such as Cleveland Clinic, Emory, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, Northwestern University and Stanford University, either maintain or are attempting to gain control of such technologies that will advance their institute or program into the next generation of medical care. Although the integration of robotics into the field of medical treatment and education is controversial, it would be the smartest way to progress the field of medicine. Traditionally, medical students have watched procedures by their supervisors and instructors and learned by watching. Once the processes and operations have been ingrained in theory, the practice part involves experimentation
The access to information and resources is virtually limitless. Although the upfront costs of these technologies is immense, as progress is made, the costs will become more efficient and reduce the overall costs and inefficiencies in the medical world. In general, the overall cost benefit ratio greatly increases and the time hours required to invest on hands on medical knowledge greatly decreases. It is apparent that robotics in medical training can provide a safer, more cost effective, more enhanced learning and increased practice and productive learning opportunities. In order to validate my research, I decided to see if I could interview a company first hand that is currently a leader in Virtual Reality and Robotics Technology. One company that I had the opportunity to interview, THE VOID, is a leader in its field. The Void creates virtual reality simulations for entertainment purposes. Currently, their technology takes visitors through simulations of popular movies and experiences such as Star Wars and Ghostbusters. As I experienced this, I thought to myself that if the experience was so realistic to all my senses, wouldn’t the application of this technology for teaching purposes be