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Experts believe that the use of robots in clinical care settings will grow exponentially over the next decade. In most cases this is generally anticipated as a welcome development as it should facilitate a higher standard of care in two ways: firstly, by ensuring human resources are directed into the most pressing areas of hospital service; and secondly, by reducing the risk of surgical error through the use of precise micro-technology. But there are also concerns that a lack of guidelines on the matter might result in health authorities being involved in a spate of robot-related claims for medical negligence compensation.
The past two decades have seen robot-based surgery become an integral part of the latest surgical methods in various fields, including:
Many of the roboticised surgical procedures carried out in these disciplines harness the Da Vinci Surgical System, a step up from traditional laproscopy. It employs a 3D High Definition patient-side remote console, which allows the surgeon to make the tiniest of movements and incisions with a minimum of risk.
However, it is in the clinical care sector, particular those which involve the young or the elderly, that the use of robots is really expected to explode. And, with no negligence-related guidelines for robotic care technologies, insiders are starting to express concerns that, without sufficient legislative protection, vulnerable groups could lose out on vital person-to-person contact as robots begin to replace their human caregivers. Ultimately, such a scenario could lead to trusts being liable for large payouts of medical negligence compensation.
Professor Sharkey, a robotics expert from Sheffield University, explains why over-reliance on robots may result in patients experiencing psychological personal injury, "Research into service robots has demonstrated close bonding and attachment by children, who, in most cases, prefer a robot to a teddy bear. Short-term exposure can provide an enjoyable and entertaining experience that creates interest and curiosity.
"However, because of the physical safety that robot minders provide, children could be left without human contact for many hours a day or perhaps for several days, and the possible psychological impact of the varying degrees of social isolation on development is unknown.
"At the other end of the age spectrum, the relative increase in many countries in the population of the elderly relative to available younger caregivers has spurred the development of elder-care robots. These robots can help the elderly to maintain independence in their own homes, but their presence could lead to the risk of leaving the elderly in the exclusive care of machines without sufficient human contact."
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