Technological advances have greatly improved the ease and quality of many Americans' lives. This is especially true within the medical field where the use of technology and medical devices has helped save millions of lives. While there is little doubt that the medical field has benefitted greatly from modern devices and equipment, questions have been raised about the safety of some of these devices.

Of particular concern is the use of robotic equipment in surgical procedures. Many hospitals around the country, and in states like Ohio, currently use the robotic surgical equipment known as the da Vinci system. Doctors have been using robots to aid in performing a variety of surgical procedures for more than 10 years. During that time, thousands of medical errors related to the use of robotic surgical equipment were reported to the Federal Drug Administration, including 71 cases in which patients died.

Despite these deaths and thousands of injuries, hospitals around the country continue to invest heavily in robotic technology and there is increasing demand from consumers. The proliferation of robotic surgeries recently prompted researchers at Johns Hopkins to examine the issue more thoroughly.

Looking at numerous news reports and court documents, researchers at the prestigious medical institution were able to determine that a great number of medical mistakes related to robotic surgeries go unreported. When examining factors that may contribute to robotic surgical errors, researchers found that poor training and inexperience are often to blame.

During 2010, a study of those doctors who used the da Vinci system showed that more than 56 percent had experienced a serious malfunction while doing so. While many of these medical errors did not result in a patient suffering harm or injury, failure to report these errors only serves to perpetuate the use of equipment that may ultimately prose dangers to patients.

Source: Star Tribune, "New concerns on robotic surgeries," Roni Caryn Rabin, Sep. 22, 2013