Admit it: we all love a bit of Tomorrow's World futurology.
But what do you do when tomorrow becomes today? That's the strange feeling you get reading this story that robot doctors and nurses have started patrolling London hospitals:
"Sister Mary" glides between beds and allows the controlling doctor to visually examine and communicate with a patient from anywhere in the world.
Meanwhile, a patient at London's Guy's Hospital has recently undergone live kidney transplant surgery carried out by a robot - the UK's first.
The da Vinci robot has also been used to remove bladders and repair hearts.
All well and good, but what about their bedside manner?
Actually, thinking about some of the doctors I'd had over the years, they probably weren't too far from being cold, emotion-less machines. Roll on the robots!
Update: SocietyGuardian.co.uk has an article called Robodoc revolutionises ward rounds.
