Zachary Melton ENGL 1102 Mr. Borrero 3/20/2013 Medical Technology: Will Your Next Doctor Be a Machine?

When you think of a doctor, what do you see? A middle aged man, or woman, dressed in white asking you questions and diagnosing your symptoms? Soon that image could change for people as technology is quickly taking a foothold in the medical industry. As Helene Pavlov's article titled Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Your Family Doctor? suggests, artificial intelligence and machines will take over a lot of the medical industry from scanning X-rays and test results to directly diagnosing patients based on symptoms. While Pavlov views this as a negative step in the medical field, I happen to disagree and agree at the same time and think that these medical technologies are growing to be more than up to the task to aiding doctors, but not completely taking over. In this article I will talk about three specific forms of medical technologies: artificial intelligence, medical machinery (such as surgical robots), and digital culture (such as websites) and how they are impacting the medical field. As a medical patient, why should you care? Technology is being used to enhance many aspects of the medical field from managing patient data, research, to impacting our health care system (Salman). By the end of this article you will know what AI, digital culture, and medical technology is to medicine as well as why I believe these technologies are necessary to the medical field but not to completely replace doctors. Hopefully by reading this you obtain a deeper knowledge of the technology behind the medical field and aren't intimidated by its advances. How did we get to where we are in the medical field, and where did all of this technology come from? It doesn't take much to see that we've made significant strides in medical technologies. I don't know about you, but when I think early medicine and tools I think of things like herbs, mortar and

pestle's, and scalpel's. Sure, these things are still being used in places even today but technology has created more efficient technology to make things easier. Saying when technology first took it's hold in medicine is too broad of a question to answer, but it is easy to say that things such as artificial intelligence has changed the field forever. So what exactly is AI, or artificial intelligence? When talking about AI there are a lot of different things you could talk about. For the purposes of this article, we'll define it as an attempt to replicate intelligence in machines and computer programs. If you're looking for a more technical definition, Istvan S. N. Berkeley from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette defines artificial intelligence as the study of man-made computational devices and system which can be made to act in a manner which we would be inclined to call intelligent (Berkeley). That's nice and all, but how is this linked to the medical field? Artificial intelligence is used for many different things in the medical field from databases, to image processing, to aiding doctors in diagnoses (Rastgarpour 5). Artificial intelligence is even used to help train medical students while they're in school such as with the famous IBM Watson computer ("Cleveland Clinic and IBM join forces). It's easy now to see that artificial intelligence is no minor player when thinking about doctors and the medical field as it covers many different areas. In her article, Pavlov questions artificial intelligence's ability to evaluate abnormal patterns, or to self-aid a patient which to a degree she would be correct. While I don't believe artificial intelligence can completely replace doctors, it still is a vital tool in the medical field. As I said previously, AI plays a hand in a variety of different aspects of the medical field that have become more than just making it easier; it has become a necessary part of the field. Let's take IBM Watson as an example since I've already mentioned it. Currently, Watson is being used to help medical students by applying their knowledge using Watson's vast database technology to 'diagnose' patients given their symptoms (Cleveland Clinic and IBM join forces). This is important because, according to IBM, by 2020, doctors will face 200 times the amount of medical data and facts that a human could possibly process

(Cleveland Clinic and IBM join forces). Given the vast knowledge the field holds, its becoming a need to have the help of artificial intelligence there to help students learn everything quickly and efficiently. There could even be potential for this type of technology to be used by actual doctors to help diagnose actual patients since it's unlikely for a human to remember every possible illness someone might have. This is where the human and artificial intelligence collaborate to advance the medical field efficiency. I agree with Pavlov when she argues that artificial intelligence do not have the right to diagnose patients on their own (Pavlov). I believe a doctor holds authority over the program to diagnose the patient and treat them, and the artificial intelligence is only there as a tool to help them. Artificial intelligence is not the only tool doctors can utilize with the growing technology advances. Medical robotics is a fairly new invention, having the first use of advanced robots on things such as surgery in 1985 (Sanchez). Currently, you might have the image of a lone robot hovering over a patient performing an operation, and you would be wrong. The robots are supervised at all times, and most of the time are operated by humans themselves (Sanchez). Speaking more broadly, robots in medicine is what it sounds like, robots used in the medical field. The integration of robotics into medicine include things like surgery robots, exoskeletons, medication dispensers, and even nanorobots. Robotics are necessary to medicine since the technology makes things that were previously impossible possible. This includes allowing people with paralyzed limbs to use them through the use of robotic prosthetics and exoskeletons. Having a machanized hand is becoming possible since now sensors are being attached to nerves and muscles so they can be controlled with thought (Sanchez). The use of exoskeletons are being used to help paralyzed people walk and get around like they normally would independently. Without the help of these robotic technologies, certain movement would be Having a Hand exactly like Luke Skywalker might be more than Science Fiction before long. impossible to these people. Having technology like this can also increase the efficiency of the field as well as the safety

of patients in and out of the hospital, such as having the prosthetics makes it safer and easier to move around and do simple tasks. When thinking of robots some might find it difficult to understand how safety is increased, but you have to think of things in terms of efficiency. Take for example the use of automated dispensing machines. Before their invention, medication was dispensed in a lot of hospitals to patients using carts that would go around to each room and hand out the medication needed (Fung). This method was highly inefficient and caused a lot of problems to people since it was labor intensive and a lot of times medication times were missed due to delays (Fung). Not only did the automated dispensers reduce the time it took for medication to get to the patient, but it reduced a lot of manual labor required to dispense the medication by hand. However, the medications are still looked after for faults and handled by the nurses in the hospital. Even robotics are just used as a tool and not to completely replace doctors and staff. Going back to the image of the robot hovering over the patient performing surgery, this is something that you wont see for a very long time. For the most part, surgery robots are operated by actual doctors trained to use them. One of the most popular operating machines is called the Da Vinci, which is operated by the surgeon using a terminal in the same room as the patient. This has become a great asset to doctors as the Da Vinci gives them a lot more mobility when operating on a patient and allows them to reach places that are normally hard to reach by hand (Benefits of Robotic Surgery). The patient gets the joys of low risk of infections, lower blood loss and pain, and quicker recovery times (Sanchez). The Da Vinci has made many different types of surgeries a lot more efficient and safe to the patients and doctors, but the machine is still only as good as the surgeon since it is The Da Vinci Operating System. Notice the surgeon in the background operating the system using the panel. completely controlled by them. This is how it

should stay since this technology is primarily a tool for doctors to use to make their practices more efficient. There's a certain comfort in being able to meet the person that will operate on you and learn their qualifications, whereas you can't really meet a machine. Whether or not a machine can bypass years of surgical training to do surgery on it's own has yet to be determined, and I believe it will be a long time before it actually is. For now it is just a tool to help the doctors as well as medical patients, and let's hope it stays that way. Aside from artificial intelligence and robotics, there are some more accessable technologies available to the general public such as digital culture. Digital culture plays a huge part in the medical field today as more and more people are taking their symptoms to the internet to diagnose themselves. Medical digital culture are websites used to diagnose, talk about, or even treat illnesses based on symptoms. These sites include but are not limited to Web MD, Mayo Clinic, Medline, Yahoo, and Google. These sites provide articles that talk about certain illnesses as well as forums for users to discuss their symptoms or problems. How is this linked to the actual medical field? Many people are taking matters in their own hands and looking for diagnoses on their own. In a very recent study it was said that 59 percent of U.S. Adults say they looked online for health information within the past year (Hill). This means that over half of the U.S. are starting their medical journey online, but is this a good thing? Some would say yes, some would say no. It might be obvious, but this technology has it's ups and downs when talking medically. Some good things is that the patient is more informed on the types of illnesses they could have based on their symptoms and some simple ways to treat them. Having an idea that something you could have is very dangerous can lead to emergency, often needed, trips to the doctor. One example would be a woman named Pat Stewart, who had an unusually long respiratory infection that lasted several weeks (Hill). After checking online for the potential causes, Pat decided to consult a doctor since the outcomes seemed serious (Hill). It turned out Pat was diagnosed with asthma after an X-ray and CT scan (Hill). Information is a good thing for people to have at their finger tips, but is too much information a bad

thing? I would say yes, because some people are not trained to interpret it. In the wrong hands, the information can cause a lot of problems for someone trying to diagnose themselves online. What if they get their diagnoses wrong and start treating themselves for something completely different from what they actually have? Not only can there be dangers involved with treating the wrong thing, but their real problem is being neglected while they treat their false illness (Dombeck). There is also an issue with the accuracy of these online sources, since it is really just a database that goes off your symptoms. There are no blood tests or X-rays to go off of to be sure of that you have. Dr. Roger Harms, editor in chief of Mayo's consumer information site commented that When you search 'headache' and the internet comes up with brain tumor, it's not likely going to the be first thought on 'headache' that your doctor will have (Harms in Hill). Aside from patients using these sources, you might be shocked to know that actual doctors are referring to these sources to diagnose patients. During a survey, it's said that 46 percent of doctors use search sites like Google or Yahoo in the practice of treating, diagnosing, and caring for patients (Chan). It might be interesting to note that 42 percent say they get information from sites like Web MD (Chan). If doctors are using these sites themselves to diagnose patients, why not just use them yourself to cut out the middle man? Well this goes back to my argument that these technologies are not meant to replace your doctor. As I said before, these online sources are good to get an idea on what could be your problem and it's ideal when you think something serious could be wrong, because then you can consult your doctor to get fully diagnosed. When a doctor refers to these sources, they are trained to know and rule out possible diagnoses with their own knowledge as well as what to search for when looking for problems (Chan). If you wanted to, it could be wise to thoroughly research what you think your problem might be so that you can take it to your doctor. This helps you understand what is wrong with you, and you already have an idea of what the problem is so you can be engaged with the conversation your doctor will have with you. Rink Murray, a gynecologist from Chattanooga agrees with this notion and adds that if you feel the doctor isn't working with you or can't or wont take the

time to help you understand why he or she disagrees with your researched conclusions, get a second opinion (Murray in Hill). However, you should keep in mind that medical digital culture is meant as a tool and not completely replace your doctor. It's very unwise, as I've said before, to self diagnose ones self as it can be dangerous.

Works Cited "Benefits of Robotic Surgery." Whcenter.org. MedStar Washington Hospital Center, n.d. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. Berkeley, Istvan. "What Is Artificial Intelligence?" Ucs.louisiana.edu. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. Chan, Amanda. "Doctors Use Google For Health Information, Too, Survey Finds." Thehuffingtonpost.com. N.p., 1 Nov. 2011. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. "Cleveland Clinic and IBM Join Forces." IBM Research. IBM, n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. Dombeck, Mark, and Jolyn W. Moran. "Risks of Self Diagnosis." MentalHelp.net. N.p., 3 July 2006. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. Fung, Esther Y., and Belling Leung. "Do Automated Dispensing Machines Improve Patient Safety?" US National Library of Medicine. Can J Hospital Pharmacy, Nov. 2009. Web. 8 Apr. 2013. Hill, Karen N. "Calling Dr. Google: One-third of American Self-Diagnosis on the Internet." Timesfreepress.com. N.p., 31 Jan. 2013. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. Pavlov, Helene. "Will Artificial Intelligence Replace Your Family Doctor?" Thehuffingtonpost.com. N.p., 21 Apr. 2011. Web. 19 Mar. 2013. Rastgarpour, M., and J. Shanbehzadeh. "Application of AI Techniques in Medical Image Segmentation and Novel Categorization of Available Methods and Tools." Iaeng.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. <http://www.iaeng.org/publication/IMECS2011/IMECS2011_pp519-523.pdf>. Salmon, Paul. "How Robots Are Being Used in Medicine." Technicallyeasy.net. N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr. 2013. Sanchez, Matt. "The History of Medical Robots!" Neurochangers. N.p., 9 July 2012. Web. 8 Apr. 2013.