外科医生能否利用互联网进行远程手术

 

Mischa Dohler is a professor at King’s College in London, England.

He also plays the piano and writes music.

Dohler wants to teach people how to play the piano using the internet.

“Kids or anybody could learn how to play the piano really properly from the best musicians in the world,” he said.

Dohler’s idea is to create a glove that the piano student could wear while practicing. This glove could connect over the internet to the teacher, who could be anywhere in the world.

The teacher could then help the student learn proper technique without being in the same room.

The glove would help move the student’s hands into the correct position to play the music.

The idea of a person on one side of the world using the internet to accomplish a task on the other side of the world is called “the internet of skills.”

Dohler also wants people in the medical industry to use the internet of skills.

Doctors already use robots to help them perform difficult tasks like medical operations. But they are in the same room as the robot and patient.

If a doctor could do remote surgery¹, it could help save people’s lives in places where highly² skilled³ doctors are not available.

The only problem is that, right now, the internet is not fast enough to support this idea.

To perform a difficult task like surgery, a doctor in one place would have to make a movement, and the robot would have to be able to make the same movement within 10 milliseconds.

Companies are working to develop systems that can move data, or information, faster.

Eve Griliches is a Product Line Manager at Cisco Systems. Cisco develops systems that connect people over the internet.

Griliches said “the internet of skills” would not be possible without the work companies like hers are doing to create high-speed video networks.

The same systems that provide video to iPhones and laptops may someday help teach piano or save a life.

Dohler recently discussed his ideas at a conference on communication technology in Los Angeles, California.

He said he came up with the virtual⁴ piano teaching⁵ idea when he thought about all the other work people do using digital tools.

“We use digital today to negotiate⁶ for jobs. We use LinkedIn, emails, etc.,” Dohler said. “But then to execute⁷ the work, we still need to drive. We need to fly. We need to walk. So I was thinking, ‘Could we virtualize it? Could we digitize skills?’”

I’m Dan Friedell.

Words in This Story

proper – n. a general direction of change : a way of behaving, proceeding⁸, etc., that is developing and becoming more common

glove – n. a covering for the hand that has separate parts for each finger

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

technique – n. the way that a person performs basic physical movements or skills

accomplish – v. to succeed in doing something

remote – adj. far away

virtual – adj. existing or occurring on computers or on the Internet

execute – v. to do or perform an action

1 surgery   

n.外科，外科手术；手术室

参考例句：

• What time does surgery finish?门诊什么时间结束？
• Your condition is serious and requires surgery.你的情况很严重，需要动外科手术。

2 highly   

adv.高度地，极，非常；非常赞许地

参考例句：

• It is highly important to provide for the future.预先做好准备非常重要。
• The teacher speaks very highly of the boy's behaviour.老师称赞这个男孩的表现。

3 skilled   

adj.(in)熟练的，有技能的；需要技能的

参考例句：

• Unskilled workers usually earn less money than skilled workers.无技能的工人通常比有技能的工人挣钱少。
• She was skilled enough in French to translate a novel.她法语娴熟，足以翻译小说。

4 virtual   

adj.实质上的，事实上的，实际上的

参考例句：

• This reply is a virtual acceptance of our offer.这一回答实质上是接受了我们的建议。
• At that time the East India Company was the virtual ruler of Bengal.那时东印度公司是孟加拉的实际统治者。

5 teaching   

n.教学，执教，任教，讲授；(复数)教诲

参考例句：

• We all agree in adopting the new teaching method. 我们一致同意采取新的教学方法。
• He created a new system of teaching foreign languages.他创造了一种新的外语教学体系。

6 negotiate   

v.洽谈，协商，谈判，顺利通过，成功越过

参考例句：

• I'll negotiate with their coach on the date of the match.我将与他们的教练磋商比赛的日期问题。
• I managed to negotiate successfully with the authorities.我设法同当局进行了成功的协商。

7 execute   

vt.执行，实行，实现，实施；处死，处决

参考例句：

• Never once did I doubt that I would be able to execute my plan.我从未怀疑过我能执行自己的计划。
• The general gave the word to execute the deserters.将军下令处决逃兵。

8 proceeding   

n.行动，进行，(pl.)会议录，学报

参考例句：

• This train is now proceeding from Paris to London.这次列车从巴黎开往伦敦。
• The work is proceeding briskly.工作很有生气地进展着。