← IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

Role of robots in medicine

Robots help with medical tasks needing great accuracy or care, such as assisting in surgery, moving patients and delivering supplies in hospitals.

Part of: IGCSE Computer Science 0478 — 6.2 Robotics — Module 18

Understanding Role of robots in medicine in IGCSE Computer Science Paper 1

What it does: A prosthetic limb is a robot part that moves a joint by a set amount, helping a patient with daily tasks. Robots in surgery can cancel out small hand tremors, which gives the great accuracy that medical tasks need. Robots assist in surgery because they can make very accurate, steady movements. Planting crops is a role in agriculture. Surgical robots usually assist a human surgeon, who controls or supervises the robot. Delivery robots move supplies around the hospital, which frees staff to spend more time caring for patients. A robotic prosthetic has sensors, a microprocessor and actuators, so it can move like a real limb.

Common mistakes: The arm must use the scaled-down value move, not the full hand movement. Scaling makes the surgery robot more precise. It should be MOVE arm BY move. The delivery robot should go to the stored destination, target (ward_B). Hard-coding ward_A sends the medicine to the wrong ward. It should be GO_TO target WITH load.

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This module's key terms are also in a printable crossword (Modules 632–641) and word search (Modules 632–651).

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Learning
Duo
Which task is a role of robots in medicine?
Assisting a surgeon during an operationPlanting crops in a field
Matches
surgeryRobot.operate(alone) // robot replaces the surgeon completely
↓
Surgical robots usually assist a surgeon who controls them. They do not usually operate fully alone.
Applying
Meanings
Term
Robots in medicine
Meaning
Robots help with medical tasks needing great accuracy or care, such as assisting in surgery, moving patients and delivering supplies in hospitals.
Practice
task ← "surgery"
Testing
Gaps
robot.("surgery")
Check Answer
Spots
3IF move > 5 THEN move ← 5
4MOVE arm BY hand

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Quick Questions

1. Which task is a role of robots in medicine?
A. Planting crops in a field
B. Assisting a surgeon during an operation ✓
Robots assist in surgery because they can make very accurate, steady movements. Planting crops is a role in agriculture.
2. Why are robots useful in robot-assisted surgery?
A. They can make precise, steady movements ✓
B. They get bored and take more breaks
Robot arms do not shake or tire, so they can make very small, accurate movements. This is the key idea of precision.
3. True or false: In robot-assisted surgery, a robot always operates on patients with no human involved.
A. False - a surgeon usually controls or guides it ✓
B. True - the surgeon is never needed
Surgical robots usually assist a human surgeon, who controls or supervises the robot.
4. What is a hospital delivery robot used for?
A. Performing operations on patients
B. Carrying supplies such as medicines and samples around the hospital ✓
Delivery robots move supplies around the hospital, which frees staff to spend more time caring for patients.
5. Which is an example of a robotic limb or prosthetic helping a patient?
A. A robotic arm that grips when the user sends signals ✓
B. A plain wooden stick used as a crutch
A robotic prosthetic has sensors, a microprocessor and actuators, so it can move like a real limb.

Match the Pairs

surgeryRobot.move(0.1) → A robot arm makes a tiny, steady movement to help a surgeon during an operation
deliveryRobot.goTo("Ward 4") → A hospital robot carries medicine or supplies to a ward so staff do not have to
A robotic limb or prosthetic is controlled so that it copies a patient's intended movement → prosthetic.bend(elbow, 45)
Precision and steady movement: a surgical robot removes any shaking from a surgeon's hand → IF hand_shake > 0 THEN filter(hand_shake)
surgeryRobot.operate(alone) // robot replaces the surgeon completely → Surgical robots usually assist a surgeon who controls them. They do not usually operate fully alone.
hospitalRobot.job = "cook meals for the family" → This is a domestic task, not a medical one. Hospital robots deliver supplies, move patients or help in surgery.

Key Term

Robots in medicine
Robots help with medical tasks needing great accuracy or care, such as assisting in surgery, moving patients and delivering supplies in hospitals.

Fill in the Blanks

1. robot.assist("surgery")
Hint: Type the function name for a robot helping a surgeon during an operation.
2. robot.deliver("supplies", "ward")
Hint: Type the function name for taking supplies to a hospital ward.
3. robot.move(patient, "bed")
Hint: Type the function name for shifting a patient from one place to another.
4. shake = 0
Hint: Type the number that shows perfectly steady movement with no shaking.
5. IF limbLost = TRUE THEN robot.fit("limb")
Hint: Type the pseudocode keyword that comes after an IF condition.

Spot the Error

Question 1
A hand ← READ surgeon_hand
B move ← hand * 0.1
C IF move > 5 THEN move ← 5
D MOVE arm BY hand
Line D — The arm must use the scaled-down value move, not the full hand movement. Scaling makes the surgery robot more precise. It should be MOVE arm BY move.
Question 2
A target ← ward_B
B load ← medicine_box
C GO_TO ward_A WITH load
D RELEASE load
Line C — The delivery robot should go to the stored destination, target (ward_B). Hard-coding ward_A sends the medicine to the wrong ward. It should be GO_TO target WITH load.
Question 3
A weight ← READ bed_sensor
B IF weight < 120 THEN
C ALERT nurse
D ELSE
E LIFT patient
F ENDIF
Line B — The robot should alert a nurse when the patient is too heavy to lift safely. The comparison is the wrong way round. It should be IF weight > 120 THEN.
Question 4
A signal ← READ muscle_sensor
B IF signal > 3 THEN
C OPEN hand
D ELSE
E OPEN hand
F ENDIF
Line C — Both branches now open the hand, so the prosthetic can never close. A strong muscle signal should close the hand. It should be CLOSE hand.
Question 5
A REPEAT
B tremor ← READ hand_sensor
C correction ← 0 - tremor
D MOVE tool BY tremor
E UNTIL surgery_done
Line D — The tool should move by the correction, which cancels out the shaking. Moving by tremor adds the shake instead. It should be MOVE tool BY correction.

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