Design Summary and Analysis Draft 1

According to the article, "5 Medical Robots..."(2020), there is an increasing amount of interest and funding for medical robots within the healthcare industry. The article suggests that there are many advantages to using medical robots in place of humans and one such advantage is that medical robots can "automate lower-level tasks" while humans can focus on high priority work. The article mentions 5 medical robots that are being used in the industry at the moment. Firstly, the da Vinci Surgical Robot, which is a "multi-armed wonderbot" that provides extra precision for a variety of procedures and helps reduce errors made during surgery. Another precision robotic system is the Cyberknife, which is used to treat tumours with utmost precision using radiotherapy. The PARO Therapeutic Robot is a unique invention as it is used to aid the recovery of patients from depression, surgery, or any mental illness in the form of an interactive robotic seal. The Xenex Germ-Zapping Robot disinfects hospital rooms within minutes, killing different types of bacteria. Lastly, the TUG is an automatic mobile robot that transports supplies within the hospital, relieving the hospital workers from carrying heavy loads.

While all 5 medical robots have their unique purpose, I feel that the Cyberknife has proved itself to be very special due to its impact on treating cancer. Despite its name being Cyberknife, this system is made up of a radiation source mounted on a robot, motion synchronisation technology, a robotic arm-mounted linear accelerator, a multi-leaf collimator and a patient positioning system.

Cancer is the name given when cells in your body start growing out of control and crowd out normal cells. Most cancers form a lump called a tumour. These tumours can be treated using surgery, medication or radiation. However, no matter how many different types of treatments there are for cancer, it still remains one of the deadliest illnesses around the world. 

The invention of the Cyberknife helps to tackle some of the problems faced when using traditional methods such as lobectomy. The Cyberknife allows for targetted radiotherapy to tumours at precise and complicated angles without the need to reposition the patient. It has over 2 decades of clinical proof that shows how it has helped cancer patients throughout the years. 

The goal of using robotic assistance in treating tumours is to achieve "tumour control rates" close to or equal to those achieved by traditional methods. According to the article, "Application of Robotic..."(2009),  robotic radiotherapy is safe and remarkable compared to fractionated radiotherapy. The results are also closely approaching those obtained with traditional methods without the associated suffering from diseases or medical conditions.

Over the years, the Cyberknife has gone through various improvements and developments to get rid of the initial technical problems. According to the article, "The CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System" (2010), the concept of the Cyberknife remains untouched, however, significant improvements have been made in the latest product. The article also highlights the developments made from the 1997 version of the Cyberknife and the 2010 version. 

In conclusion, the Cyberknife has been proven to be an effective solution to help treat tumours that are located in surgically complex parts of the body and the fact that deaths due to cancer remain to be at a high makes it an important invention in the medical industry. Technological developments have helped the healthcare industry in many ways and medical robots have been proven to be a success. They help to save lives as well as make life better. 

1. Case School of Engineering. (2020, December 28). 5 Medical Robots Making a Difference in Healthcare
From https://online-engineering.case.edu/blog/medical-robots-making-a-difference

2.

(unsure how to reference these)

2. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0936655509001885

3. https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/understanding/what-is-cancer

4. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/153303461000900502