iPad used to assist surgery in Flash-free Japanese OR
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted June 3rd 2010 4:01PM
posted June 3rd 2010 4:01PM
At least one surgeon in Japan is using an iPad in the operating theater (a term we learned from M*A*S*H). It's unclear to us whether it's attached to an endoscope, he's looking at reference photos, or even if the device is serving any use at all other than attracting TV coverage, but it sure looks like the real thing -- he's pinching to zoom through latex gloves and everything! The next obvious question is, of course: is there an app for that operation? Video after the break.
[Thanks, iNicc0lo]
[Thanks, iNicc0lo]
Is it just a toy now?
@cabela
Yes, because surgery is for little kids. Everybody knows that.
@cabela
What a PR stunt. World's first iPad surgery. As if doctors haven't used computer displays or touch screens in the OR before. Guess hospitals in Japan need publicity as much as european or american ones to survive.
@cabela Yeah, this is just a really realistic version of "Operation".
@cabela
It's amusing how the world desperately tries to find a reason for the iPad to exist ...
@SeeKo PR Stunt or not, the responsiveness of the screen would make it pretty good for this sort of thing, and the viewing angle on the ipad is pretty awesome.. Not that that responsivness/viewing angle can't be replicated, probably for much less if all it had to do was display wirelessley transmitted video..
Cool all the same I suppose, untill a push notification comes through telling you your wife's messaged you on IM+ hehe
@cabela : OR what?
@geekthree or even images from an MRI or CT Scan. My neurosurgeon used my MRI images during surgery to help get a road map of my particular skull and spine. Luckily, I'm fine :)
@geekthree
Still. I stick with my prior statement. There was only one single reason why they used an iPad there. TO GET IN THE NEWS!
@kineticdamage Youre right, there's no reason for the ipad to exist, there's also no reason for netbooks or laptops video games tvs cell phones. Humanity did very well without all these things so we don't need any of this crap, but it exist so stop crying. Lol
@cabela
you blew it if you have to use pictures to perform surgery.
@John Locke USB? I doubt that.
@John Locke I'm not a hater of the iPad nor I'm digging it. But I understand it as a product, Now that I cleared out that I'm not biased, I would like an explanation of why anyone would get so attached to a product or company that any negative (or positive really) comment about it moves you emotionally, because that, I do not get and I certainly don't understand it.
@kineticdamage
Yes, I'm sure they're trusting somebody's life to a PR stunt. That makes a lot of sense. Your knee-jerk Apple hate notwithstanding, I don't suppose it ever occurred to you that they're using an iPad that way because it's *gasp* useful? No?
@cabela im not trusting apple or steve himself with mine or anyone else's surgery
if there was an app it will be limited to certain surgeries knowing apple
@Jack
Stop being binary brained. I don't hate Apple. I just find it amusing that all the ads, interviews, performances and articles about the iPad are showing people being suddenly ultra creative about using a keyboard-free netbook. It's like a giant TV commercial ...
@John Locke
Way to prove his point by insulting people for asking why you have an emotional attachment to a product. Just shut up and go away, troll.
@SeeKo well yeah...but I bet they didn't do it on a $500 device...it was probably on a $5,000 device. That's a big savings.
@John Locke
You sound mad for some reason. Proving that you indeed have an emotional connection to a product, and should thus unplug your computer and go outside for a while.
@EL MAESTRO
you are 100% correct.
hospitals have MUCH better displays than that, you are kidding yourself if you think they need an ipad because nothing else exists in that room.
@kineticdamage Yep, that's exactly what's happening "the world" is desperately trying to find uses for the iPad, everyone has nothing better to do than go out and buy a product that is rubbish and that they don't need.
The problem with Engadget posters is, that by and large they are idiots with little to no life or business experience.
People are buying iPads simply because they think that as an overall product it fulfils their needs and is priced at a point they are happy with. They clearly don't care it can't play flash, has a closed eco system, doesn't have USB, can't multitask, and has no front facing camera. The fact that Apple has sold so many in the first 2 months shows that Apple knows what it's doing, and the commenters on Engadget know Jack about Jack.
I've said this before and I'll say it again, people on here can't seem to fathom that what is important to a geek is not important to the majority.
@Jack
This is DUMB. I'm a laparoscopic surgeon and can see absolutely NO NEED AT ALL for an iPad in my OR.
I know what went down in there. Probably one of the many rabid Apple fanboi surgeons every hospital is full of. I know a surgeon who was all over the iPad once it was announced, and didn't know what I meant when I told him it doesn't have "flash", and can't "multitask". He was like, "what's flash? why would I need to multitask?"
@wilvo
"People are buying iPads simply because they think that as an overall product it fulfils their needs and is priced at a point they are happy with. They clearly don't care it can't play flash, has a closed eco system, doesn't have USB, can't multitask, and has no front facing camera. The fact that Apple has sold so many in the first 2 months shows that Apple knows what it's doing, and the commenters on Engadget know Jack about Jack."
No. People are buying iPads for the same reason they buy anything else Apple. They see a commercial. The commercial tells them that the iPad is "simple" and they "already know how to use it". They know that the iPhone used to be (and still is) a symbol of "coolness". They don't care about the price point. It's an impulse buy. They find all different ways to justify buying it, but in the end it is relegated to a corner in their house. I've seen it far too often. People get the iPad, they use it for a couple weeks, then they either sell it, give it to a family member, or (and I've seen this more than once) they use it as a picture frame for digital photos.
@wilvo
You mean that Apple was good at guessing how people needed a keyboard-free netbook in order to help surgeries, make magic tricks videos and learn dolphins to touch-control stuff ?
Yeah, irony here. But this was my whole fracking point.
@wilvo Exactly. Why do people feel a need to comment negatively on EVERY FUCKING ipad article? Or to furnish us with their "why an ipad is not for me" or "why the ipad sucks" testimonials over and over and over.
It's funny and sad at the same time. LOL
@John Locke
"You don't see the benefits of this device, you don't buy it. But don't claim people are idiots buying it because it's heavily commercialized."
And there we go, folks. We have a Freudian slip. I never said that they were stupid for buying an iPad that is heavily televised. Your words, not mine, moron.
This is how all products are sold. 9 times out of 10, the product that is advertised more often is going to sell more because of exposure to the public. WTF does that have to do with people being "idiots"?
People buy the iPad thinking that it's going to have all these uses around their house. They use it for a couple weeks. They deeply enjoy it. But eventually, after a month or two, it's relegated to being a picture frame.
@SeeKo I have an uncle who's a surgeon, and although he does have touch screen displays, they are laggy and non-responsive even though I'm pretty sure they cost ~20X more than an iPad. Whether or not you believe an iPad is needed in surgery or not, you can't deny that it's screen visibility and touch responsiveness is much better than any commercial equipment used in the OR. It also has a higher resolution, although that's not saying much...
@Mike10010100 You're so full of shit I can smell your stink all the way to Chicago. Stupid stupid stupid.
@Mike10010100
Ha. Behold the market analyst. So, where'd you get your degree, Massachusetts Preschool of Technology?
If you want to know why people buy an iPad, you'll have to do something very crafty.
Come closer...
Little closer...
OK, here's what you do...
BUY AN IPAD!!!
@LEM Eagle and vqro
Thanks for adopting John Locke's style of arguing. Calling other people "lying sacks of shit" and insulting them. Seriously. Speaking of pre-school, remember what they told you? Sticks and stones and all that.
Disagree? Prove me wrong. I'm not being trollish, I'm not insulting people.
@John Locke
I honestly don't care about sales figures. Know why? Because unlike you I don't form an emotional bond to a product from a company whose sole purpose is to suck the cash out of my wallet. That's ALL companies btw.
@John Locke
Get lost.
(haha I had to make this one !)
@cabela
LOL at the media. oh my god, a computing device on surgery table.... well have to be admit, at least it doesn't crash. I would choose that instead of Windows 7 i guess.
but next time they do any surgery please dont use the ipad on me... I trust the reliability of a more expensive professional medical equipment than iPad. I don't want to put my life on an $499 device.
@Mike10010100
Right on.
I mean, instead of arguing about whether or not the iPad is a good product, couldn't we be making a more productive use of our time. Like, perhaps, blaming BP for that terrible oil spill?
Men. Go figure.
@Mike10010100 Well, Mr. I'm-so-sensitive, if you're not full of shit, then you're just a silly little liar.
"No. People are buying iPads for the same reason they buy anything else Apple. They see a commercial. The commercial tells them that the iPad is "simple" and they "already know how to use it". They know that the iPhone used to be (and still is) a symbol of "coolness". They don't care about the price point. It's an impulse buy. They find all different ways to justify buying it, but in the end it is relegated to a corner in their house. I've seen it far too often. People get the iPad, they use it for a couple weeks, then they either sell it, give it to a family member, or (and I've seen this more than once) they use it as a picture frame for digital photos."
Somehow the ipad's only been out for 2 months but you've "seen it far too often". What a load of crap. Your history speaks for itself: you're a hater, plain and simple and your sophomoric attempts to convince are actually quite comical, much like your cute little kitten avatar.
@vqro
"Somehow the ipad's only been out for 2 months but you've "seen it far too often". What a load of crap. Your history speaks for itself: you're a hater, plain and simple and your sophomoric attempts to convince are actually quite comical, much like your cute little kitten avatar."
I went to a prep school full of people with a ton of money looking for a new way to spend it. I've been over to many houses, only to find their iPad in its charging port, showing a slideshow of pictures. I asked them about it, and many times I've heard about how it was a fun toy.
So because I'm not insulting people and am trying to have a rational argument, I'm "mr. oh so sensitive"? Seriously? Is that the best you can do?
@Mike10010100 Ok, I'm too bored with this to bother giving you a full reply. Don't care what the haters think and don't care what the fanboys think. But it's funny to see people getting their panties in a bunch over this and coming up with apocryphal anecdotes to "prove" their point.
Have the last word, I'm sure it'll make you feel better. kthxbye
@geekthree
Exactly, and people who criticize it as useless have probably never used one. I use an iPad at the shop to monitor IP cams on various CNC machines, and when I take it home I can control anything from irrigation valves to the telescope in my observatory. It is a general-purpose tool and the beautiful wide-angle display is just icing on the cake.
@SeeKo
Exactly. I am a physician and I have been in many surgeries as assistant in my internship, and like you said we use monitors, most of them with large screens and with big arms many years ago.
Now, iPad could be useful because it is small, and you do not have to move your head out of your surgical area.
For what I see, they were using the ipad as an image reference assistant (including previous CT scans), not as monitor.
@drlisbon
Disagree, he is using real images of THE PATIENT, not ATLAS or illustrated images, this is very important because many people have ANATOMICAL VARIANTS, this helps the surgeon to minimize errors.
@Mike10010100
wait, so u're flaming people for buying a product that they feel fulfills their needs? oh heaven forbid!
@kineticdamage so making use of a given tool is desperately trying to find a reason for it to exist?
For some odd reason it sounds like you're speaking condescendingly of the fact that the iPad can be used for more than one thing.
The world is flat!
@Mike10010100
Nobody believes your ignorant azz.
@kineticdamage
Binary brained? You said the world was desperately trying to find a reason for the iPad to exist. Either you hate Apple or you're a complete idiot.
He's using it because it's useful to him. Why is that so far beyond your ability to comprehend?
@TareG
Yes, and obviously every doctor in every hospital in every city in every country in the world is exactly like you. What the hell is it with you Apple hating idiots that absolutely cannot comprehend the concept that different people like different things?
Clearly that doctor found it useful. You can make excuses for that all you want, but it's not going to change the fact that some people (a lot of people in fact) find the iPad useful to them.
Get used to it.
@John Locke
Many people actually buy Apple product just because of commercial and they think it is "cool".
That's why many people install Windows in their Macbook.
@kineticdamage Uhh. So tv commercials are using marketing strategies. shocking!
@Narutogrey
Have you ever used any modern medical slate? They run windows 7. They have awesome screens that have very wide viewing angles. The touch screens although they are resistive, work when surgeons have gloves on, They have an active digitizer pen, which ispretty important, as well as cameras for documentaion.
They don't cost that much more than an ipad maybe 3x the cost. However for that you get:
1) Drop resistance up to 6 ft
2) Waterproofed so you can get blood, puke and guts all over it and not have to worry
3) it *can* be disinfected (I don't think the Ipad would appreciate a shower in ethanol, or any type of other disinfectant)
4) Can be used with surgical gloves on
The day a hospital starts using an ipad instead of a medlcal slate...is the day I avoid that hospital. The potential for disaster for using something like an ipad in an OR vs a medical slate is huge.
@d889 Honestly i don't have any idea about displays in operating theatres but do they have better displays that have multitouch capabilities? My question is purely factual and i am just interested to know.
@TareG What an EPIC FAIL at trying to pretend u r in the medical field. laparoscopic surgery is a surgical technique, u ass, it is not a speciality. Therefore you can't be a 'laparoscopic' surgeon. What a complete donkey. If u r going to troll at least do some research.
An ipad would be incredibly useful in a surgical setting. Bringing up MRI scans and x-ray images to aid in the surgery would be the obvious use.
Anyways nice try and trolling, u truly embarassed yourself