anesthesiology station
The (regular, non-robotic) anesthetic area of an operating room. Coronation Dental Specialty Group via Wiki Commons CC By SA 3.0
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The robots were supposedly coming for our jobs. Not just the blue collar jobs, but also the highly trained and exceptionally well-paid jobs of anesthesiologists. These doctors help patients walk the dangerously thin line between pain-free unconsciousness and death, and for that their services can cost $2,000 per procedure. A robot named Sedasys could do the same job for more like $200 … except that nobody wants to buy it.

Several outlets are reporting that Johnson & Johnson will stop selling Sedasys because of poor sales.

The machine was able to administer anesthesia for routine procedures, while monitoring the patient’s vitals. It could be operated by a nurse or clinician, which is where the cost savings come in. The device got FDA approval in 2013, but as The Washington Post notes:

Looks like the humans have won this round.