June 23, 2019

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Sports June 23, 2019

Team USA Readies For Knockout Round At Women’s World Cup

The Women’s World Cup has entered the elimination quick-fire Round of 16. NPR’s Michel Martin speaks with Roger Bennett of the Men in Blazers about Team USA’s performance so far.



MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Finally today, let’s check in on Women’s World Cup, hosted by France this summer. This weekend, the tournament entered the round of 16 – the knockout round, a time when players have to leave it all on the field or go home. And who better to guide us through it than our friend Roger Bennett, half of the “Men In Blazers” podcast and a tireless soccer superfan, who’s been touring the U.S. this summer to spread love for the beautiful game.

And he’s with us now from – where are you exactly, Rog? (Laughter).

ROGER BENNETT: I am in New York City, Double-M, and it is a joy to be back with you.

MARTIN: Likewise. Likewise. So this is the first time we’ve had the pleasure of checking in with you during this competition. How’s the women’s World Cup going for you so far?

BENNETT: Oh, it’s a human joy. I actually call it the real World Cup because America have actually qualified for this one and are very, very good. So we’ll call the other one the men’s World Cup. We have finished the group stage. We are in the knockout round now. It’s win or go home, and it couldn’t be more exciting.

MARTIN: Well, going into the weekend, big news was that for the first time ever, two African teams, Cameroon and Nigeria, made it to the round of 16. While Nigeria was facing off against powerhouse Germany, Cameroon was paired with England, also a top contender. So both African teams now out of the tournament, both having suffered 3-0 losses. But the fact that they made it this far – does it say anything bigger about the women’s game?

BENNETT: It was heartbreaking to watch Cameroon today – to watch them struggle against England, to watch them feel hard done to by the refereeing and the video assistant refereeing, which has been a constant thorn as a feature in this tournament in-game. The Cameroonians were crying the decision-making made by the referee, and they probably had a case at some point. I am not Cameroonian, but I felt their pain.

You know, their dreams are as big as the American or English players dreams. Their resources are not. They struggle to even be at this World Cup, Cameroon. They’re so woefully underfunded. The players hardly come together to play games. They barely train before the tournament begins. I can say the joy from an African perspective is that fan interest is soaring. And that may be the true legacy of the World Cup runs for the continent of Africa – a taste of the future and all that is to come.

MARTIN: And, you know, of course, Team USA continues to be the favorite, won all of their matches by shutouts. So Team USA plays Spain tomorrow. I guess the U.S. is still a favorite to win. But Spain isn’t a pushover, though, right?

BENNETT: USA, USA.

MARTIN: (Laughter).

BENNETT: Michel, it’s been a joy to watch the U.S., who didn’t lose a single group stage game, didn’t give up a goal, either. I will say their games have been devoid of suspense or drama. They score early and often. But the reality is, we still do not know how good this team is. They’ve played teams that are, frankly, just patsies happy to be there. Title IX has given the U.S. such dominance in this sport, which has barely been on the radar of other nations. That has changed. The European powers have all invested heavily, deeply, smartly in the game. And there’s so many threats in this World Cup, starting with Spain. So there’s many games to go before we can get what we all dream, which is American glory.

MARTIN: I do want to mention, though, that Team USA had success off the pitch, too, because U.S. Soccer has agreed to negotiate with players who are currently suing the sport’s governing body for gender discrimination. And, you know, I’m just interested in your take on this, as a person who watches both the men’s game and the women’s game closely. What do you make of it?

BENNETT: It’s a massive issue behind the scenes. Now the tournament’s kicked off, football is almost always front of mind for the players. But it really is simmering away in the background. The U.S. women are remarkable. They are elite footballers, elite athletes. But they are also pioneers, not just for the women’s game in America – for the women’s game around the world.

And, as they say – I interviewed a series of the players in the run-up to the World Cup, and Megan Rapinoe, the talismanic attacking midfielder – she said, we do not feel that we’re just trying to pioneer for women’s soccer. We feel we’re pioneering for women in all jobs in all offices around the world. It’s a massive weight, a massive responsibility that is on their shoulders. Ultimately, for the U.S. women, they all agree – winning is the best negotiation, and that’s what they’re now trying to focus on and pulling off and trying to do.

MARTIN: All right. Big match today – France versus Brazil. How did it come out? And what does it mean for Team USA?

BENNETT: The French team, on whom to – trying to repeat the achievement of the men and becoming world champions, they played just exquisite tactical, technical football. And if the U.S. can top Spain, the clash between the French and the U.S. will be a one which will really grab the wider American audience and fuse it to this tournament.

MARTIN: That is Roger Bennett, one of the “Men In Blazers.”

Roger, it’s always good to talk with you.

BENNETT: Michel, courage.

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Health June 23, 2019

Doctors Learn The Nuts And Bolts Of Robotic Surgery

During a training session, Dr. Kenneth Kim and a surgical resident practice a hysterectomy on a robotic simulator at UAB Hospital.

Mary Scott Hodgin/WBHM 90.3


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Mary Scott Hodgin/WBHM 90.3

Across the country, surgeons are learning to use more than just scalpels and forceps. In the past decade, a growing number of medical institutions have invested in the da Vinci robot, the most common device used to perform robot-assisted, or robotic, surgery.

Compared to traditional open surgery, robotic surgery is minimally invasive and recovery time is often shorter, making the technology attractive to patients and doctors. But the da Vinci surgical system is expensive, costing as much as $2 million, and recent studies show that for certain procedures it can sometimes lead to worse long-term outcomes than other types of surgery.

Even so, the robot has become common practice in some specialties, such as urology and gynecology, and that growth is expected to continue, which means more surgeons are learning to use the device.

“It’s not necessarily, ‘Is robot better?’ ” says Dr. Kenneth Kim, director of the robotic training program at UAB Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. “Robot is just another tool that they need to master just like any other surgical tool.”

But “mastering the robot” can be a challenge.

“It never was an issue because open surgery, like scissors — like everyone learns how to use scissors in kindergarten,” Kim says. “Everyone knows, functionally, how to use a knife. But with the robot, it’s a totally different, new tool and it’s more complex, so now that has a separate learning curve.”

The da Vinci robot is not self-operating, at least not yet. Instead, it works almost like a big video game. The surgeon sits at a console station and uses hand and feet controls to manipulate a separate surgical part attached to the patient.

Operating in virtual reality

One way students get comfortable with the device is by operating in virtual reality. At training institutions like UAB, surgical residents use a simulator to complete monthly tasks and practice common procedures.

OBGYN resident Teresa Boitano says the exercises help develop skills that are directly applicable to the operating room. During one of these tasks, Boitano moves the robot arms to precisely place colorful rings onto corresponding spikes.

“And so I’m going now to grab this first ring and at the same time I’m thinking, ‘OK now where do I need to go to get the next one?’ ” Boitano says. “You’re always trying to stay ahead of the game but then also, making sure you’re not doing any errors at the same time.”

If she does make a mistake, the machine will tell her. Kim says the latest simulators come equipped with advanced motion-tracking technology. So while Boitano’s practicing a task or doing a run through a hysterectomy in virtual reality, the simulator records her movement – how accurately she uses the robot arms or how fast she completes the exercise. It provides objective data about surgical performance.

Dr. Khurshid Guru, director of robotic surgery at Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center in New York, says this simulator technology helps standardize the training process.

“The analogy is that now you don’t have to worry about learning how to drive a car because everybody could get onto the street, they are taught the basic principles of driving a car,” Guru says. “The million-dollar question now is, ‘When would you allow them to get onto the expressway?’ “

Guru says that is the next step, when surgeons specialize in different procedures.

Robot-assisted surgery not for every patient

Dr. Monica Hagan Vetter, of The Ohio State University, has studied robotic training programs across the country. She says using a simulator to measure surgical ability helps ensure surgeons have a certain level of skill before they actually operate on people.

“You can learn the steps of the procedure,” Vetter says, “but if you don’t know how the robot works, if you don’t know how to troubleshoot the robot or what to do in an emergency, then even if you can perform the world’s best hysterectomy and you know all the steps and all the instruments, you are not safe to do that.”

Dr. Kenneth Kim says simulators and the data they provide help streamline the teaching process and offer the opportunity to give students more objective feedback. It is a way for surgeons to learn to use the da Vinci robot as a tool, but Kim says they still have to watch and learn.

“The simulator’s good, but it can only simulate so much,” he says.

In the real world, Kim says robot-assisted surgery is not right for every patient. A surgeon needs to know when to use it and when not to use it, and those decisions can change as researchers continue to study patient outcomes from robotic surgery.

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