White armor

Chapter 765 The Shocking Effect of AI+ Remote Surgery

As the airtight door to the operating room slid open silently, the media people in the corridor were still engrossed in their own chatter, completely unaware that the surgery had already ended.

"The design of this unmanned hospital is truly ahead of its time," a reporter said, leaning against the windowsill and sipping his newly bought Luckin Coffee. "I visited their AI pharmacy before, but even though it's called AI, it's all done by human operators."

"Is it like that AI company in India?"

"Yeah! They say it's fully automated for dispensing and distributing medicine, but actually it's all done manually. It's just a production line that transports medicine to the front. I thought it would be like that today too, but I never expected this..."

The man was quite moved by the fleeting glimpse he had just witnessed.

“That’s right,” a female reporter chimed in, swiping her finger across a tablet. “I heard that even the cleaning and disinfection in the ICU of the First Affiliated Hospital of the Provincial Medical University are now done by robots.”

But such a major surgery would take at least five or six hours, right?

She glanced at her watch. "I made a reservation at the cafe across the street. Want to go wait together?"

In a corner of the fire escape, two television cameramen were squatting and smoking.

The younger one, puffing out smoke rings, said, "Boss, shall we pack up the equipment for now? We won't be out anytime soon anyway."

The older man shook his head: "Let's wait a bit longer, just in case. Our leader specifically instructed us to make sure this is done properly."

Before he could finish speaking, a passing nurse glared at him and he quickly stubbed out his cigarette.

Old Liu, a senior reporter at the Morning Post, was sharing his experience with an intern: "This kind of heart surgery is something that ordinary hospitals wouldn't dare to do; patients are sent directly to the provincial capital. But even in the provincial capital, they're basically all sent to the capital city."

There aren't many hospitals in Beijing that can perform this procedure: Peking Union Medical College Hospital, 912 Hospital, and then there are Anzhen Hospital, Fuwai Hospital, and so on. Heart surgery—just hearing that makes you sound serious.

"Master, how long will this surgery take?" the intern asked.

"It takes at least 5 hours. Speaking of which, Professor Luo from the First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University is really arrogant. He brought three small boxes of equipment with him. The AI ​​robot, did you see it? It's so coordinated. My Xiao Ai is so clumsy."

"I use an Apple device, and the AI ​​voice control is terrible. I don't know when it will be improved. Today I saw an AI robot carrying things downstairs, and I was stunned."

"I thought the leaders of the mining area were just talking casually. Before I came, I thought it was impossible and that we were just going through the motions. I really didn't expect this."

"I was startled when I saw the operating room that had been transformed. Master, I really thought it was a stage."

"I recorded it, but the camera angle was a little off. I'll go ask Dean Lin later if we can have it..."

He suddenly stopped, noticing the intern staring in disbelief at what was behind him.

In the rest area at the end of the corridor, several reporters had already opened their laptops and started writing their articles. "The Debut of an Unmanned Hospital: A Long Wait," someone had already typed out the title in their document.

Another blogger was live-streaming on his phone: "Hey guys, before the surgery is over, let me show you the hospital's smart restaurant."

The operating room door had already slid open silently.

It wasn't until the AI ​​robot pushed the hospital bed into the doorway, its metal wheels making a slight "creak" on the ground—some people watched this scene in surprise, while others were "infected"—that the noise outside the operating room subsided a little.

Since it's not an unmanned hospital, the ground at Donglian Mine is still not flat enough, and the flatbed cart makes a slight noise.

The patient's family rushed over in a panic.

They knew the surgery was extremely difficult and were prepared for it to take at least 4-5 hours.

Unexpectedly, the patient was wheeled out after only about an hour.

All sorts of negative speculations have already overflowed.

"How...how could it be so fast?" The patient's mother's lips trembled, her fingernails unconsciously digging into her palms, leaving four crescent-shaped red marks on her skin.

Her gaze was fixed on the white sheet covering the flatbed, as if she could see the worst possible outcome through the fabric.

The patient's grandmother behind him suddenly collapsed, almost kneeling down if she hadn't been supported.

"Didn't you say...didn't you say at least four hours?!" The old man's voice was broken and incoherent, and cloudy tears were already streaming down his wrinkled face.

The media also became agitated.

The reporter Lao Liu from the Morning Post suddenly changed his expression, and the tip of his ballpoint pen drew a deep ink mark on the notebook; the female reporter gasped, her finger hovering over the send button, hesitating whether to send out the article she had written in advance about the failed surgery; the two cameramen looked at each other, and tacitly focused their lenses on the family's pained expressions.

"Something must have gone wrong," a reporter from the City Express muttered to himself, already typing the headline "First AI Surgery in China Fails" on his phone.

In the corner, the food blogger hurriedly turned off the live stream, and the last image on the screen was his wide-eyed, astonished gaze.

The shock and weeping of the patient's family members turned into heart-wrenching sobs. A suffocating despair permeated the entire corridor, as if death had already cast its shadow here.

"Hey," Li Qiubo strode out first, "the surgery was a success."

"???"

"???"

Everyone was stunned.

A doctor wearing a protective suit, hat, mask, and sterile gloves walked to the front of the crowd.

Some sharp-eyed people recognized him as Professor Luo, the expert who had left Donglian.

"The surgery was successful. The patient will stay in the ICU for one night. If there are no special circumstances, he/she will be transferred to a regular ward first thing tomorrow morning."

"what?"

"what!"

"This is a myxoma in the heart. Please take a look, family members."

Luo Hao held a stainless steel pathology basin in both hands, in which was a gelatinous substance the size of an egg.

Under the operating lights, the cardiac myxoma gleamed with a mother-of-pearl-like luster, its surface covered with fine, spiderweb-like blood vessels that refracted an eerie iridescence as the water rippled gently.

"This is the myxoma removed from the patient's heart." Luo Hao's voice wasn't loud, but it was exceptionally clear in the silent corridor.

The patient's mother suddenly covered her mouth, and tears instantly streamed down her face—but this time they were tears of joy.

She reached out her finger, trembling, wanting to touch but not daring to touch the culprit that had robbed her child of years of health.

The patient's grandmother behind him immediately knelt down and was about to kowtow to Luo Hao, but Luo Hao dodged her.

"No, take a good look. If you keep this up, I'll be leaving now," Luo Hao said quickly.

This is no joke. Luo Hao has heard countless experienced people say that if someone kneels before you, something bad will always happen.

"This...it's been taken out already?" A young relative of the patient stood on tiptoe to look, but was so frightened by the tumor that he shrank back, yet couldn't resist peeking out curiously.

The media area was in an uproar.

The sound of camera shutters rang out like a torrential downpour as more than a dozen cameras simultaneously zoomed in for close-ups.

The reporter hurriedly deleted the previous headline and retyped, "Miracle! AI surgery sets a new record for the shortest time for heart surgery."

"My God!" The female reporter from *Medical Frontiers* was so close that the reflection from the pathology basin dazzled her eyes. "This thing is actually growing inside the heart?"

She subconsciously touched her chest, as if an egg had grown inside her heart.

“Director Gu of 912 is a leading expert in cardiology, at least one of the top two surgeons in the country. It's only right that we act quickly,” Luo Hao explained with a smile.

The 912 brand still has influence.

"Professor Luo, will the people of Donglian be able to enjoy top-notch medical services in Donglian without leaving their homes in the future?" The forty-year-old host was quite professional and reacted immediately, shoving the microphone right next to Luo Hao's mouth.

"Professor Luo..."

"Professor Luo..."

Luo Hao took a small step back, a humble and gentle smile on his face.

He handed the pathology tray to the AI ​​robot, crossed his hands in front of him, and faced the microphone thrust in front of him in a manner that was neither distant nor overstepping boundaries.

"The balanced development of medical resources has always been the direction our team strives for." His voice was gentle and steady, each word sounding precisely measured. "It's truly gratifying that Donglian City, as my hometown, can benefit from high-quality medical services."

He turned slightly to the side, allowing the camera to capture the AI ​​robot standing silently behind him: "But we must be clearly aware that technological innovation must always be based on patient safety. Today's success is built on countless clinical trials and expert evaluations."

When reporters pressed for further questions, Luo Hao raised his hand at the opportune moment, indicating, "The specific plan still needs to be implemented according to the guidance policies of the National Health Commission. However," a sincere light flashed in his eyes, "it is indeed our greatest wish as researchers to help our fellow villagers avoid the hassle of traveling long distances for medical treatment."

After saying this, he nodded politely in acknowledgment.

This elegant exit not only provided the media with ample material but also cleverly avoided further questioning.

Only the phrase "patient safety is the premise" echoed in the corridor, like a promise that was both hopeful and cautious.

Li Qiubo sighed inwardly, thinking that Luo Hao's tai chi skills had indeed evolved.

Moreover, in the past, when he returned and encountered special circumstances, he would immediately start the surgery. But this time, Luo Hao didn't even go directly to the operating table; he simply stood below and "watched" a highly complex surgery.

Li Qiubo vaguely sensed that Luo Hao's status and position were changing rapidly. Although he was the director of Donglian Mine and had seen a lot, he could not accurately define Luo Hao's position.

First, Li Qiubo, representing Donglian Mine, spoke on behalf of the media representatives, and Secretary Sun also expressed his support.

After I finished everything, I went to the intensive care unit to take a look at the patient.

The patient has been switched to assisted ventilation mode, which means he is breathing on his own, and judging from the values ​​on the ventilator screen, he should be able to be extubated at any time.

At this point, Luo Hao adopted a "survival" attitude, explaining to the doctors and nurses in the intensive care unit that he would wait until the next morning and leave "Xiao Meng" behind.

"Professor Luo, this is so advanced." Li Qiubo was at a loss for words; he could only marvel at how advanced it was.

"It's alright, but there are still some minor issues. Also, the AI ​​robot can't perform a heart myxoma surgery on its own; it can only act as an assistant for now."

Being limited to being an assistant seems to be a drawback of AI robots, but Li Qiubo felt somewhat helpless, as this was clearly a leap forward.

"Professor Luo, you're too modest," Li Qiubo exclaimed. "Would you like to come to my office for a while?"

“Okay.” Luo Hao greeted Chen Yong, who watched as the AI ​​robot disassembled and loaded the “mobile operating room” and then went to his office with Li Qiubo.

“Professor Luo, let me get straight to the point. This time, I was entrusted by the leaders of the mining area,” Li Qiubo said. “You are the golden phoenix that flew out of Donglian, and you also know about the mining disaster.”

Luo Hao nodded seriously.

"Can AI robots work in related industries? No, it should be said that they are engaged in related dangerous operations."

“Theoretically, it should be possible, but I don’t know about the data collection situation in the mining scenario.” Luo Hao then explained the source of the backend data for the unmanned hospital project.

The billions of medical records accumulated by His system over decades are a number that is enough to make one dizzy.

“Dean Li, the mining scenario and the medical scenario are very different,” Luo Hao said after a moment’s thought. “Medical data has structured medical records accumulated over decades by the HIS system, with detailed records of every surgery and every medication. But underground operations…”

Li Qiubo leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees: "The mining area underwent digital transformation last year. Sensors were installed on all mining faces, and data such as gas concentration and roof pressure are transmitted back in real time."

“That’s not enough,” Luo Hao shook his head. “AI needs ‘operational memory’—for example, how miners handle roof falls, how they retreat during water inrush. This action data is more important than environmental data.”

The office air conditioner was humming softly.

The second hand of the wall clock ticked away, and Li Qiubo stared at the smart bracelet peeking out from the cuff of Luo Hao's executive jacket, its blue light flickering faintly.

“What if,” Li Qiubo suddenly lowered his voice, “you let your AI follow the miners down the mine? Like the surgical observation learning mode we used today.”

Luo Hao's eyebrows rose slightly. He recalled the silent robotic arm in the operating room, precisely replicating every suturing motion of Director Gu.

"Theoretically feasible, but three problems need to be solved." He counted on his fingers, "First, explosion-proof certification; the downhole equipment must meet the Ex ia level; second, motion adaptation; the robotic arm must adapt to the tunnel terrain; third..."

Luo Hao was indeed a science and engineering guy; he counted on his fingers, one, two, three, four, five.

This was an old habit of Luo Hao's, and Li Qiubo was aware of it.

As Li Qiubo watched, he felt somewhat dazed, as if he had returned to the time when Luo Hao was still a junior staff member in the medical department.

"By the way, let me look it up first." Luo Hao smiled. "I'm not an expert in this field either, so there are some things I don't know much about."

As Luo Hao spoke, he reached out his hand.

"Xiao Meng" handed over the tablet computer directly and swiped his finger across it twice.

"There really is one, it's already started."

In the video, an AI robot is using hydraulic shears to cut open the deformed frame of a mining truck, its movements even more efficient than those of a firefighter.

"What is this?" Li Qiubo leaned closer, looking at him in astonishment.

"This is a test video that Xishan recently released; they used AI robots to make a mine rescue device!"

The video shows a robotic arm reaching into a collapsed crevice, and an infrared camera clearly shows it pulling a miner's location card out of the rubble.

"this?"

"It's not very mature yet; everyone is trying to figure out how to do it," Luo Hao said. "The most mature one in China is the port."

“I’ve heard of it, but I haven’t been able to find any related videos.” Li Qiubo looked at Luo Hao with some anticipation.

Luo Hao swiped his tablet, and a live video popped up on the screen—the unmanned terminal of Yangshan Deep-Water Port was awakening in the morning light.

There were no whistles, no shouts, only the faint hum of rail cranes gliding through the forest of containers.

Thirty orange-red bridge cranes stood like silent giants, their steel joints equipped with hundreds of sensors that gleamed coldly in the morning mist.

A 200,000-ton container ship has just docked. The hull is still rising and falling slightly with the tide, but the crane's spreader has already been precisely lowered.

"Click, click, click."

With three soft clicks, three 40-foot containers were simultaneously lifted, as if pulled from a tower of blocks by an invisible hand.

“This should be the port’s next-generation AI scheduling system,” Luo Hao explained, pointing to the screen. “The decision delay for each gantry crane is no more than 2 milliseconds. They can even ‘learn’ the rhythm of the waves and complete the grab the moment the ship is lifted.”

Luo Hao squinted, watching the scene with great interest.

In one corner of the picture, a container's corner piece was clearly deformed, but the hydraulic claw of the spreader adjusted its angle as if it were alive, "squeezing" in sideways and firmly locking itself in.

The camera pans to show twenty driverless AGVs shuttling back and forth at a speed of 35 kilometers per hour.

"What is this?" Li Qiubo asked in surprise when he saw that there was no one in the car.

"Automatic guided vehicle."

Like a swarm of busy worker ants, they carry containers, drawing crisscrossing tracks at the dock.

There are no traffic lights, no stops, and all routes are calculated in real time by the central AI. When an AGV suddenly brakes, its lidar detects a seagull that has wandered into the work area, and the system has already replanned the route for the entire fleet within 0.1 seconds.

“A traditional dock requires at least 2000 people working in three shifts, but here we only need 30 technicians,” Luo Hao continued to explain. “They say even tire wear is predicted by AI—look at that corner.”

Luo Hao moved his fingers on the tablet twice, then focused his gaze on an AGV that was undergoing "self-inspection".

It automatically drove into the maintenance area, raised its chassis, and its robotic arm extended from its abdominal cavity to skillfully replace the sensor module.

Luo Hao closed the tablet and smiled at Li Qiubo.

Outside the window, one could vaguely see nurses pushing medicine carts along the corridor of Donglian Mine General Hospital, their wheels creaking past.

The sound contrasted sharply with the silent tires of the AGV in the video.

"Medical AI and dock AI are essentially both about turning human experience into data," Luo Hao said softly. "The earliest AI docks in China were more than a decade ago, and a lot of the content has been run countless times."

Li Qiubo remained silent, knowing that the matter was not as simple as it seemed.

Data, data—Li Qiubo never imagined that those copied and pasted medical records in the HIS system would still be useful.

Moreover, its impact is so significant that the healthcare system can quickly deploy AI.

Although Luo Hao is still very cautious, Li Qiubo can already see the light in the distance.

"Okay, I think I understand."

"Dean Qiubo, if the leaders of the mining area are interested, I can help contact experts from the university."

"!!!"

"Going down into the mine early means that even if there's a mining accident, no one will die. I think that's what everyone hopes for."

Xiao Luo really gets it right away; he got straight to the point in one sentence—why the leaders of the mining area were so enthusiastic.

Their positions are indeed advantageous, but the sword of mining disaster hangs over their heads. If dangerous jobs were done by AI robots, the cost of a mining disaster would only be slightly higher.

It will absolutely not affect the chair you're sitting on.

After chatting for a while, Luo Hao took the initiative to say, "Dean Qiubo, it's getting late, I have something to do."

"Huh? Not staying overnight in Donglian?"

"I'll be back over the weekend. The AI ​​system needs debugging, and it's not finished yet," Luo Hao said, somewhat troubled.

The incident where "Xiao Meng" had excessive privileges left Luo Hao with lingering fears, but debugging the backend data was not something that could be done overnight.

“Okay, do you still want to see the patients?” Li Qiubo understood Luo Hao’s logic and took the initiative to invite him.

"Let's go take a look."

After checking on the post-operative patients in the intensive care unit, Li Qiubo accompanied Luo Hao out of the outpatient department.

When I passed by the outpatient pharmacy, the line was so long that I couldn't see the end of it.

"So many people are getting prescriptions for medicine in Donglian these days," Luo Hao asked.

"The main problem is that hospitals are not adding any markup to their drugs, so it's not easy for pharmacies outside to do business," Lin Yuming replied.

People are flocking to the hospital to get their prescriptions, resulting in huge crowds outside the hospital pharmacy while the pharmacies outside are practically deserted.

"I heard that medical insurance audits of private pharmacies are becoming more frequent, making it difficult for pharmacies to operate," Luo Hao said with a smile.

No sooner had he finished speaking than a commotion arose from the front of the line to collect the medicine.

The noise grew louder and louder, and the people behind also started to make a fuss.

Luo Hao didn't pay much attention at first. Most of the people who came to the hospital were anxious, wanting to see a doctor but not wanting to spend money.

It's normal to have conflicts.

But his six senses were digitally enhanced and became very sharp, so he immediately heard some strange things.

Seeing that Luo Hao's expression was a bit strange, Li Qiubo asked, "Professor Luo, what's wrong?"

"It seems to be someone from the pharmacy..." Luo Hao only said half of his sentence.

Lin Yuming knew his nephew well, so he quickly walked to the front.

At the pharmacy window, a middle-aged man was arguing, clutching a prescription.

"Why should I? I need my medicine!"

The pharmacist behind the glass didn't even look up, her fingernails swiping rapidly across her phone screen: "What's the rush? Someone behind you is getting their medicine. I don't have any left. Just wait."

"It's urgent!" The pharmacist finally looked up, slamming his phone down on the table. "If you're in a hurry, just cut the price down for me, and I'll go get the medicine for you from the back."

Lin Yuming was stunned. What did he mean by that?
The man was stunned, and the crowd behind him began to stir.

"Hospitals these days..." someone muttered quietly.

As Lin Yuming rushed over, he saw the pharmacist push the man's medical insurance card out the window: "You're not going to cut it, huh? Just wait!"

"Nonsense!" Lin Yuming slammed his hand on the medicine counter, making the acrylic panel of the window vibrate loudly.

The pharmacist's face changed: "Dean Lin..."

"Here, let me cut it for you."

The area inside and outside the window suddenly became eerily quiet.

Lin Yuming took out his phone and slowly operated it. The pharmacist was a little confused and just stared at Lin Yuming as he operated it, like an idiot.

The pharmacist's phone suddenly rang with a cheerful female voice: [Congratulations! You've successfully negotiated a lower price!]

The sound was particularly jarring in the quiet pharmacy.

(End of this chapter)