Some twenty years after the introduction of endoscopic surgery, a European keyhole surgery training programme is finally being set up. Dr. Sonja Buzink (Industrial Design) will lead the project.
“Experienced surgeons who routinely perform complex operations tend to regard endoscopic surgery as a pretty basic task”, says Dr. Sonja Buzink, who has studied the ways in which surgeons learn to master various forms of image-based surgery. “But moving a camera through a tiny hole in the skin to get the best view is not an intuitive task. In fact, we saw little difference between the camera skills of experienced surgeons and novices.” In other words: experienced surgeons are no better than beginners in navigating a camera through the abdomen.
Endoscopic surgery techniques are on the rise. But, says Buzink, it is not necessarily advantageous to have experience in one endoscopic technique when attempting to learn another. She studied surgeons training on virtual reality simulators. By comparing the skills of specialists in either colonoscopy (inspecting the large intestine via a flexible hose) or laparoscopy (operating in the abdominal cavity with two tools and a camera), she concluded that experience in one field does not generally lend itself to the other. And her finding makes sense, because the hand-eye coordination required for both procedures is completely different. This means that training programmes need to be very specific. Making sutures for example is best learned in a mechanical box trainer, because the tactile feedback is essential.
Buzink’s PhD supervisor, Professor Richard Goossens (IDE), is glad that the European Association for Endoscopic Surgery has asked Buzink to set up training programmes. These trainings will allow a more objective skill assessment than the current master-apprentice system. “We may not be able to influence the current generation much”, Goossens says, “but we will improve the training of future surgeons.”
Sonja Buzink, ‘Improving patient safety in image-based procedures’, 7 September 2010, PhD supervisors: Prof. Huib de Ridder, Prof. Jack Jakimowicz and Prof. Richard Goossens.
Today, everything imaginable, from food and drinks to living and fashion, is being ‘eco-fied’ or ‘greened’. TU Delft of course is no exception. These days you seemingly can’t turn a Delta page without seeing big, bold headlines with the words ‘Eco’, ‘Sustainability’ or ‘Green’ in them. Thanks to this global eco-trend, TU Delft’s students and researchers are now hot stuff with their headline-making achievements in eco-design and eco-engineering.
But what does the life of a typical eco-citizen look like? To hear the ‘true confessions of an eco-holic’, I turned to my friend Marjo, an industrial design student and the eco-est person I know. Marjo admits she has set rules or ‘eco-codes’ that she lives by, but which have all transformed into some natural instinct that she is no longer consciously aware of, although she did finally manage to pinpoint some, such as:
Reuse and recycle. The garbage bin must always be the last option. Recently Marjo’s old stuff ended up at marktplaats.nl and gratisoptehalen.nl, which she recommends everyone use, so others can reuse.
Never ever waste food. Marjo is always the doggie-bag taker at the end of any borrel or party. Good for her, but for the rest of us, it can be difficult to even contemplate following her doggie-bag style lead, forcing us to ask ourselves difficult questions: wouldn’t this be unappreciated by others? Won’t I look rather cheap in this way?
Save energy. Marjo’s home is like a cave, which is not said to cause offence, because her home is really gezellig, just it has no stove, TV or large PC. Illumination mainly comes from the sun. And her saving energy mania extends far beyond her own ‘nest’; whenever she’s in public toilets, rooms or hallways, her eyes automatically search for light switches to turn off.
By following all these eco-rules, Marjo has seriously reduced her carbon footprint, no question. But she’s also paid a price. Nowadays, whenever she sees a gas-guzzler like a Hummer plowing a path along a Delft canal, the compulsion to punch the driver in his face just rushes to her head. Not only do her own efforts make her distressed about the rest of the world’s waste, but she also started judging her own family. She watches loved ones using dishwashers and dryers in horror. She hates that her family has four cars. When Marjo admitted that her anti-family thing might also involve a bit of late-puberty attitude, as well as her eco-consciousness, what I thought was that perhaps Marjo sometimes just suffers from ‘green fever’.
Eco-snobbism
After I recently returned from a trip to Paris, my friend Anne’s opening question to me was: “Did you go there by train or by plane?” By plane, I answered, “and I found a really cheap ticket,” I added, pausing intentionally to wait for her envious reply. But instead, her eyebrows narrowed, and I knew immediately that not only would such a reply never come, but what’s worse, the first twenty minutes of our casual coffee time chat would end up being Anne’s lecture about carbon footprints. In the end, I promised Anne that the next time I travelled, I would try to stay grounded.
Yet, living in this modern world, there is no way to escape committing such ‘eco-sins’, regardless of how much you love our mother earth. What if I arrive at C1000 and realize I’ve forgotten to take my organic hemp bag with me? I then have to buy a plastic bag, which some people say will remain underground forever. Yes, I’m eco-aware, but I must also make sure my life functions normally, and that doesn’t include either not shopping or walking all the way back home to get my organic bag.
To be deeply committed to ‘eco’ adds lots of hassles (and guilt) to our lives. Obviously, the eco-warriors don’t mind and actually feel quite good about it. But isn’t it also humanly difficult or even impossible to take your cola bottles to the recycling store without sneering at those who do not? And if so, is this extra eco-effort really for a good cause or just one more of the many excuses human beings have used through the ages to look down on other people – in this case, as eco-snobs?
If the latter is true, is it any wonder that we’re now witnessing some verbal backlash directed at our eco-friends, such as calling them ‘eco-fanatics’, ‘bio-obsessed’ or ‘green-freaks’?
Eco-consumerism
Today, such a misconception is widely held that if we buy more eco-products, we’re actually making a contribution to preserving our environment. Well, let me ask you: does sugar-free candy do you any good? It’s still candy. Less negative doesn’t equal more positive.
Ever since the signal was detected by marketing people, a green revolution has swept across most industries. Overnight, every product starts with ‘eco-‘ and is painted green. And globe-trotting, three-home-owning celebrities, of all people, have also joined this green storm.
Today, green is the trend. Green is simply irresistible. But here lies my concern: as the trendy aspect increasingly takes over the green message, won’t this trendy ‘eco-fuel’ simply serve to drive up our already rampant consumerism? Are we just looking for another excuse to justify our already insatiable consumer appetites? After all, a vital part of green living is not just what you buy, but the amount you consume and how you discern between need vs. want.
Like all trends, the fear is that this eco-trend will also quickly become outdated, that it is just a flash in the pan and not a real paradigm shift. After all, can anyone really say for certain what the color of tomorrow will be?
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