On July 31st, Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center hosted the Treasure Valley Family YMCA‘s Robotics II Camp for an afternoon with one of the most advanced robots in the medical field, the daVinci Surgical Robot. Thanks to the help of Intuitive Surgery, the producers of the daVinci robot, students were able to learn about, and even use, two models plus a simulation kiosk.
Each participant was able to experiment with three different models that Saint Alphonsus made available. Once they stuck their heads in the physician’s kiosk and got to experience first-hand how the robot operates, the students got very excited! A representative from Intuitive Surgery, Saint Alphonsus surgeon Dr. Todd Waldmann, and Jericho Harding, a Saint Alphonsus nurse, walked the students through the technology behind the daVinci, guided them on several simulation games, and discussed the impact the daVinci has had on the medical field. Most of the students said that they could have played with the robot for hours! It was a great opportunity for them to see how robots are already being used, and give them an idea of what the future might bring.
They went back to their Robotics II class the next day full of excitement and a lot more ideas of what functions their NXT Mindstorm robots might be able to do.