Next week I have the first of two procedures to remove the cataracts that have finally started affecting my vision. It’s a pretty simple “surgery” that takes about 15 minutes (don’t even have to take my shoes off!)
My ophthalmologist has recommended light adjustable lenses (LALs) which will require a series (three?) UV light adjustments a few weeks following the second surgery. More expensive and more visits but the best option for getting back to near 20-20 vision. Continue reading
“NVIDIA recently announced a suite of physical AI tools designed to let developers train surgical and service robots inside virtual hospital environments before they ever touch a patient. The centerpiece is a developer blueprint called Rheo which generates physically accurate simulations of hospital settings — modeling medical device interactions, human movements and logistics — so that robotic systems can be safely developed and tested in digital twins.” More »
Last October I had a robotic colectomy during which my surgeon used the Da Vinci Robotic Surgical System. No AI was involved but using AI tools to train surgical robots sounds like a good idea.
How good are these AI tools? A prototype (GR00T-H) has demonstrated the ability to execute a complete, end-to-end suture in the SutureBot benchmark, highlighting robust long-horizon dexterity.
All pharmaceutical companies seem to come up with bizarre made up names for their drugs. I asked Google’s Gemini to explain why this is so.
Gemini: Drug naming is a collision of three high-stakes worlds: trademark law, regulatory safety, and marketing psychology. The “bizarre” names you see are rarely the result of a creative whim; they are what’s left after a thousand more sensible names have been rejected. Here is why they sound like they were generated by a broken algorithm:
Yesterday I received an “Explanation of Benefits” from the company that provides my supplemental insurance to cover what Medicare does not. This is the first summary of some of the billing for my abdominal surgery. I’m sure there will be more to come.
This adventure started on September 23 and included doctor visits, blood tests, CT scans, scopes, surgery and all the rest. Total amount billed through November 25: $109,346.68. Total amount paid by my supplemental insurance: $303.31. My financial responsibility: $2,624.57. (This is the amount the provider may bill me after everything is paid.) I thought it would be more.
Not sure how much Medicare will pay before all is said and done. But without that coverage, I would have been on the hook for $100K+.
Watch on YouTube (3:30)
Colorectal surgery for a non-malignant growth-when performed electively in a stable patient-has a survival rate exceeding 99%, making it one of the safest major abdominal operations in modern practice. It was a very long month.