These technologies may be poised to do the same for medicine. Already, a few companies have developed commercial systems to aid surgeons. The promise of using computers and robots is not merely about providing new tools. Russell Taylor, director of the Center for Computer-Integrated Surgical Systems and Technology at Johns Hopkins Univ., points out that developers need to consider entire systems rather than a single robot tool. This has been used for a variety of surgeries, including a heart bypass surgery in which the chest wall was not opened and the patient's heart kept beating.
Humans have excellent judgment, adaptability, and dexterity.
And because humans communicate well, a surgeon can easily tell a human helper what to do. Despite the fact that human surgeons are capable of remarkable feats, however, there are some areas in which a machine can perform better. Ultimately, of course, surgical robots will be designed to cooperate with surgeons, rather than replace them. A surgeon in the future might use computer programs that manipulate pre-operative images of the patient and help to plan a procedure. Finally, the surgeon can use robotic actuators in procedures that exploit their strengths.