SURGICAL ROBOTS:

The topic for my research paper is surgical robotics.  At first, I really wasn't really interested in this topic.  I wanted to research chemotherapy.  I wanted to learn all aspects of chemotherapy because I'm going to specialize it in, hopefully.  But, the more research I did on surgical robots, the more interested I became.  The first documented use of a robot-assisted surgical procedure was in 1985, when the PUMA 650 robotic surgical arm was used to take a neurosurgical biopsy.  Robots are good for surgery because they can filter the surgeon's hand tremor and scale the movements of the instruments.  This allows unprecedented control and precision of surgical instruments in minimally invasive procedures and microsurgery.  The biggest problem with robotic surgery is patient safety in an event of robotic malfunction.  The operating room staff must be able to detach and remove robotic arms in case of an emergency.  However, robotic surgery is driven by patient demand.  Well-informed patients research available treatments for their condition and seek the latest medical technology which can potentially provide them with the surgical outcome and clinical benefits.