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F e b r u a r y 2015 | O U T PAT I E N TS U R G E R Y. N E T
out of here!"
The stretcher is another intelligent being. It rolls into the first avail-
able OR when signaled, then transforms into a surgical table. A sterile
mechanical arms sprays the skin at the site with a fluorescent green
"kills everything" solution and plops an anesthesia mask over the nose
and mouth.
The surgical robot that's doing the cutting and stitching isn't actually
autonomous. You can rest assured that a human being is operating it
remotely: your doc himself, who's at his tropical vacation home.
There's no rest for the circulator, though. She's real and she's in the
room, ready to troubleshoot and reboot the quirks they still haven't
worked out of the electronic equipment. Even in the future, her
scrubs still don't quite fit.
After the procedure, old-fashioned whole-room disinfection robots
turn over the room without the need for human contact. I must warn
you, though, another robot roams the hallways to Taser the carbon-
based life forms who failed to sufficiently stock the dispensing
machines with supplies. It's their version of a sticky note.
The stretcher that rolls the patient out to PACU gradually converts
into an upright sitting position during the course of a predetermined
recovery period, then tilts forward to dump the patient into the pleas-
antly chatty wheelchair to the discharge door.
Meet the new boss
For the humans who remain on board, technology will be the new
management in charge. Imagine retina-scanning security to access
everything, even the bathroom. Been working all day without a break?
Scan your urine-yellow eyes and the door will unlock. A robo-charge-
nurse knows where you are and how long you've been there.
Thanks to those popular fitness-tracker bracelets, we have a wealth
