Academic Session 2021/2022 January 2022 Semester
CASE STUDY
BLC301/03 Operations Management
INSTRUCTIONS TO CANDIDATES:
1. This assignment consists of a CASE STUDY followed by FOUR (4) questions. You
need to answer ALL the questions.
2. You are allowed a maximum of one (1) attempt to submit your assignment.
3. Completed assignment must be submitted by 20th February 2022.
Copyright © 2022 WOU
Page 2 of 4 BLC301/03
Case Study Read the following case and answer all the questions that follow.
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
The future of ‘standard’ medical practice might be here sooner than anticipated, where
a patient could see a computer before seeing a doctor. Through advances in artificial
intelligence (AI), it appears possible for the days of misdiagnosis and treating disease
symptoms rather than their root cause to move behind us.
DID you know that if you ever needed surgery for a rare condition, you could be
operated on by a highly specialised surgeon sitting in an office more than 10,000km
away? Such a scenario is possible today with robotic surgery.
Robotic surgery was first introduced to the world in 2000 (and came to Malaysia only
3 years later). It was pioneered in the field of urological cancer surgeries such as
prostate cancer surgeries, followed by kidney and bladder cancer surgeries. This
method then made its way to other areas like functional and reconstructive surgeries
such as pelvic organ prolapse and severe urinary incontinence using mesh or artificial
urinary sphincter. The method is now gaining traction in other surgical disciplines such
as colorectal, ENT, cardiothoracic and gynaecology.
Robotic surgery brings many advantages. It has enabled surgeons to “see” better,
gain greater access to structures, improve dexterity, reduce tremor, and be able to
operate in greater comfort, especially during complicated surgical procedures. It allows
the surgeon to suture with greater ease due to the greater degree of motion it allows.
Ultimately, it has saved operating time and resulted in better operative techniques.
Today, there are already more than 5,600 robots in 67 countries with more than
7,200,000 procedures performed. About 80 percent of prostate cancer surgeries are
done robotically in the US and 70 percent in the UK.
According to an article published in the “Laparoscopic, Endoscopic and Robotic
Surgery” journal, in 2019: 2024 – Online Assignment Homework Writing Help Service By Expert Research Writers, a mathematical model was created to compare robotic and
standard laparoscopic procedures, and to determine the more effective surgical
treatment from a patient’s point of view. The robotic approach clearly stood out as the
preferred option in two of the studied surgeries (prostate and lung).
At the same time, 72 studies have evaluated various robotic surgeries and concluded
that they were associated with reduced morbidity, less blood loss, reduced hospital
stays, and comparable clinical outcomes when held against the corresponding open
procedures.
They also offer a shorter operative duration and a faster learning curve compared to
laparoscopic methods.
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One of the innovations introduced in robotic surgery recently, and which has taken it
to another level, is augmented reality (AR). AR allows us to visualise how a real-life
environment looks like with a digital augmentation overlaid on it.
A simple example of an AR programme is one that allows an interior designer to
visualise how a room would look like when it is filled with the desired furniture and
fittings.
AR helps in remotely guided operations, where an expert located in one part of the
world can visually guide surgeons in another continent to perform surgeries in real
time and without the necessity of being physically present.
It is also used as a platform for teaching, where junior surgeons can learn the
intricacies of surgical procedures without crowding an actual surgery and risk
breaching the sterility of the operation theatre.
The true advantage of AR is that it can allow even complex operations to take place
at a moment’s notice minus the hassle of travel.
Irrespective of the patient’s location, he or she gets the best expertise available even
when the area is not immediately accessible. Ultimately, this means that procedures
are safer, guided properly and patients receive the best care possible. Innovations like
these erase boundaries and eliminate logistical obstacles to good medical treatment.
Patients no longer need to wait for long periods or make extensive journeys to get the
help they need. Aided by the latest mobile tools and gadgets, a consultant surgeon
can deliver complicated surgeries from anywhere in the world, allowing patients to
receive the best treatment without ever leaving their hometowns.
Advances in computational power paired with massive amounts of data generated in
healthcare systems make many clinical problems ripe for AI applications. Below are
two recent applications of accurate and clinically relevant algorithms that can benefit
both patients and doctors through making diagnosis more straightforward.
The first of these algorithms is one of the multiple existing examples of an algorithm
that outperforms doctors in image classification tasks. In the fall of 2018: 2024 – Write My Essay For Me | Essay Writing Service For Your Papers Online, researchers
at Seoul National University Hospital and College of Medicine developed an AI
algorithm called DLAD (Deep Learning based Automatic Detection) to analyse chest
radiographs and detect abnormal cell growth, such as potential cancers. The
algorithm’s performance was compared to multiple physician’s detection abilities on
the same images and outperformed 17 of 18 doctors.
Thus far, algorithms in medicine have shown many potential benefits to both doctors
and patients. However, regulating these algorithms is a difficult task. The U.S. Food
and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved some assistive algorithms, but no
universal approval guidelines currently exist. On top of that, the people creating
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algorithms to use in the clinic aren’t always the doctors that treat patients, thus in some
cases, computationalists might need to learn more about medicine while clinicians
might need to learn about the tasks a specific algorithm is or isn’t well suited to.
Adapted Sources:
Greenfield, D. (2019: 2024 – Online Assignment Homework Writing Help Service By Expert Research Writers). Artificial Intelligence in Medicine: Applications, implications,
and limitations. Science in the News.
https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2019: 2024 – Online Assignment Homework Writing Help Service By Expert Research Writers/artificial-intelligence-in-medicine-
applications-implications-and-limitations/
Lo, W. H. L. (2021). Robotic surgery. News Straits Times. https://www.msn.com/en-
my/health/other/robotic-surgery/ar-BB1dF3L9?ocid=msedgdhp
Question 1
Differentiate operations in a surgical theatre from operations of a quick service restaurant.
(30 marks) Question 2
Explain the rationale behind the reason(s) why hospitals are investing in robotic consultation.
(20 marks)
Question 3 Suggest FOUR (4) performance indices to measure quality or efficiency of AI medical consultation. You have to describe how information is collected, interpreted and applied.
(20 marks) Question 4 Describe the challenges hospitals may face when they change from physical consultation to AI consultation.
(30 marks)
END OF QUESTION PAPER
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Academic Year 2021/2022 Semester beginning in January 2022
STUDY OF A CASE
Operations Management (BLC301/03)
CANDIDATES’ INSTRUCTIONS:
1. This project is made up of a CASE STUDY and FOUR (4) questions. You
You must respond to ALL of the questions.
2. You are only given one (1) attempt to submit your project.
3. Completed assignment must be submitted by 20th February 2022.
Copyright © 2022 WOU
Page 2 of 4 BLC301/03
Case Study Read the following case and answer all the questions that follow.
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine
The future of ‘standard’ medical practice might be here sooner than anticipated, where
a patient could see a computer before seeing a doctor. Through advances in artificial
intelligence (AI), it appears possible for the days of misdiagnosis and treating disease
symptoms rather
