Abstract
Optimal rehabilitation results can be achieved only through an intense and constant physical therapy. The adoption of cyber-physical technologies in the field of healthcare can guarantee benefits in terms of patient care and health results. Compared to manual therapy, cyber-physical technologies have additional risks that should be reduced and controlled. The introduction of these technologies will also pose a legislative and ethical challenge. According to Biomedical Ethics, robots should act in the best interests of the humans and not to harm them and robotic research activities should look at the “Precautionary principle”. Another important ethical aspect is the respect for one’s autonomy. Technological acceptance is also to be considered: the point is if patients want to be taken care of by robots and if they agree to be diagnosed by robots. We must also think about the problems of an equal access to the new technologies, discrimination and stigmatization. The ethical question is: where does a medical professional have to stop with the artificial enhancement of humans?
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Conti, A., Azzalini, E., Amici, C., Cappellini, V., Faglia, R., Delbon, P. (2018). An Ethical Reflection on the Application of Cyber Technologies in the Field of Healthcare. In: Ferraresi, C., Quaglia, G. (eds) Advances in Service and Industrial Robotics. RAAD 2017. Mechanisms and Machine Science, vol 49. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-61276-8_92
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