Robodoc – Zukunftsvisionen und Risiken robotisierter Spitzentechnik im Operationssaal

Abstract

Surgical robotics is a new and relatively fresh area of technological and medical research. The widespread hope is that the precision of these robots' movements, which surpass that of the surgeon's hand, will one day allow what are now rare and delicate procedures to become more common and more successful. This paper examines the emergence and deployment of the first commercially-available hip-operation robot, "Robodoc", which was developed in the United States from a type of industrial robot. Most Robodocs were sold in Germany, where approximately 10,000 patients underwent a Robodoc hip operation between 1994 and 2004. At first, the public and the German press hailed the Robodoc as a wonderfully progressive example of American innovation. In time, however, the tide of public opinion began to turn when patients who were harmed by the Robodoc began to speak out. Many filed lawsuits, some of which remain in litigation to this day. These negative repercussions have made it clear that the Robodoc's perceived promise had more to do with the public's fundamental belief in modern technological progress than with the actual real-world potential of the device.