Tech

Anesthetist robot set to lose its job

Published

8 years ago

March 30, 2016

The Sedasys Anesthetist robot is about to lose its job according to new developments. Robots were supposedly coming for our jobs; not just the blue collar jobs, but also the highly trained and exceptionally well-paid jobs of anaesthesiologists.

These doctors help patients walk the dangerously thin line between pain-free unconsciousness and death, and for that their services can cost $2,000 per procedure.

A robot named Sedasys could do the same job for more like $200 … except that nobody wants to buy it.

Several outlets are reporting that Johnson & Johnson will stop selling Sedasys because of poor sales.

The machine was able to administer anaesthesia for routine procedures, while monitoring the patient’s vitals. It could be operated by a nurse or clinician, which is where the cost savings come in. The device got FDA approval in 2013, but as The Washington Post notes:

“Sedasys was never welcomed by human anaesthesiologists. Before it even hit the market, the American Society of Anaesthesiologists campaigned against it, backing down only once. The machine’s potential uses were limited to routine procedures such as colonoscopies.”

Looks like the humans have won this round.

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