DaVinci Robot Fails to Start During Prostate Cancer Surgery

This is a 2 million dollar machine and apparently there were some technical issues, and I am guessing software that lead to the hardware not wanting to operate and even a reboot didn’t fix it so we know what happens then, further search to find out if the drivers or anything else related to the hardware caused a problem.  The machine has been used before so this was not a set up issue and maybe a “system restore” will fix it?  Yes that was a bit of humor there as the parameters of the daVinci devices are a bit more complex of course.  In the OC we have Hoag Hospital now using

This is a 2 million dollar machine and apparently there were some technical issues, and I am guessing software that lead to the hardware not wanting to operate and even a reboot didn’t fix it so we know what happens then, further search to find out if the drivers or anything else related to the hardware caused a problem.  The machine has been used before so this was not a set up issue and maybe a “system restore” will fix it?  Yes that was a bit of humor there as the parameters of the daVinci devices are a bit more complex of course.  In the OC we have Hoag Hospital now using the robot for gynecologic procedures. 

Hoag Hospital Using daVinci Robot for Gynecologic Surgery Procedures

This comes right after the FDA just approved a new addition to the robot for an accessory that allows it to perform gall bladder surgeries.  The patient was connected, sedated and ready to go but the robot was not.  Apparently the problem has been fixed and the surgery has been re-scheduled.  In today’s complex world of software there’s nobody that gets left untouched today and I mean nobody.  I still get fascinated though with $150.00 Kinect device and the robot working together with some early experimentations. 

Kinect And daVinci Surgical Robot Do Simulated Surgery Suturing Together (Video)

Earlier this year one of the hospitals here was doing a road show at the local mall to show consumers what the robot is all about. 

DaVinci Surgical Robot Does a Roadshow At An Orange County Mall

At any rate the good news is that it was an issue that was corrected and the patient was rescheduled for his prostate surgery.  BD 

Mumbai: A robot must obey orders given to it by human beings, says the central law of robotics expounded by science fiction author Isaac Asimov.
But if a recent mishap at Asian Heart Institute is to be believed, the spirit of mutiny is brewing among the androids.
Doctors and anesthesiologists at the Asian Heart Institute got the scare of their lives when the robot they were wielding to perform an advanced prostate cancer surgery went kaput minutes before an incision was made.

Mahendra Shah (name withheld on request) was slated to go under the knife in a robotic-assisted prostrate cancer operation on December 6. The anesthesiologists and surgeons scrubbed in, made preparatory arrangements, and when Shah was out like a light, they retired to their console, from where they were to issue directions to the machine.

“The doctors tried all possible ways to re-start the robot, but it did not respond to their machinations. The surgery had to be aborted and the patient revived from anesthesia,” said a source from the hospital.
Speaking to Mid Day, Shah said, “I was under the effect of anesthesia, so I have no recollection of the entire incident. When I came to, my surgeon said that some glitches had cropped up with the robot during surgery. I was crestfallen, and I had been eager to undergo robotic surgery. It is believed to be the best form of treatment, and I didn’t want to compromise on quality.”

“The company that manufactured the robot said that this was a one-off incident, and that they hadn’t encountered any problems in the 6,000 cases worldwide,” said Dr Jagdeesh Kulkarni, senior uro-oncologist at Asian Heart Institute. He added that since the inception of the robotic system in August, doctors had performed 25-odd urology related operations with its help.