Robotics in Healthcare Health, Medicine, Nursing Research Paper (Research Paper Sample)

Robotics in Healthcare
Name
Institution
Robotics in Healthcare
The integration of robots into healthcare practices is an emerging trend that is expected to shape the future of the industry. Rapid developments in technology have necessitated to the application of innovative medical robotics aimed at improving the quality and efficiency of care (Kang, Kim, Lee, & Chi, 2011). Robots are used in areas such as telemedicine, helping individuals with disabilities, and assisting in surgeries (Haber et al., 2010). They are expected to relieve health professionals from repetitive and routine tasks (Kroh et al., 2011). In this sense, providers will focus on more pressing medical tasks. For example, robotic medical assistants are designed to monitor vital signs and to alert medical personnel whenever patients experience complications (Kang et al., 2011). Research into the application of robots in healthcare is important as it is used to indicate how future medical practices will look like. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the use of robotics in healthcare in the context of surgical practice.
Example of Robotics in Healthcare
Robotic surgery is an example of the integration of innovative and advanced technologies into healthcare. The application of robotics in surgery can be traced back to 1985 when a robot named PUMA 560 assisted in doing a brain biopsy (Haber et al., 2010). The Imperial College of London contributed to new developments in robotic surgery through the development of a robot known as PROBOT, which helped surgeons to perform a prostatic operation in 1988 (Lee et al., 2010). The use of integrated surgical systems necessitated the development of robots and their use in doing operations. In 1998, a robot was helped to conduct heart surgery in Germany’s Leipzig Heart Centre (Kang et al., 2011). Lee et al. (2010) reveal that the use of unmanned robots to do surgery occurred in Italy in May 2006. Since then, robots have been used to carry out a wide range of surgical procedures, including hysterectomy, prostatectomies, cardiac valve repair, abdominal operations, and gynecological procedures (Kroh et al., 2011).