James Jensen, MD, urologic oncologist with Marshall University Urology Associates and the Edwards Comprehensive Cancer Center, recently gave the students of Winfield Middle School’s Rob Lawrentz’s eighth grade technology education class an opportunity to use state-of-the-art medical technology. Students saw for themselves what it feels like to operate the DaVinci Surgical System, a state-of-the-art robotic platform designed to enable complex minimally invasive surgery with greater precision.
Tuesday, June 5th, the hospital and Intuitive Surgical, the manufacturer of the system, made available a demonstration model to give the students a glimpse into the future of medicine.
“Our hope is to possibly inspire some of the students to pursue a career in medicine, possibly advanced surgery or another science-related field,” says Jensen.
The DaVinci Surgical System is a remarkable system in which the surgeon operates at a remote controlled video console on one side of the operating room while four robotic arms replicate the surgeon’s hand movements in scaled, filtered and precise movements of micro-instruments within the surgical site.
Jensen, one of the nation’s top robotic surgeons, spoke to the class about robotic surgery and the educational training needed to become a surgeon.
Lawrentz’s class covers a wide range of technology in careers, including the use of robots in manufacturing. “The students and I are excited to have them come visit us,” he says. “It’s a nice way to end the school year.”
