5 Robots Making a Difference in Healthcare

There are good reasons for engineers to develop medical robots for use in healthcare. Unlike humans, robots are tireless and their hands never shake. They can perform precise movements even beyond the human range of motions and are able to be present with patients for as long as necessary. Plus, they can automate lower level or repetitive tasks and leave high level work for humans to do.

Five robots currently being implemented in hospitals and treatment centers to help improve quality of care and patient outcomes includes;

• The da Vinci (R) Surgical Robot--The da Vinci Surgical System, a multi-armed wonderbot gives surgeons more precise control for a range of procedures. The da Vinci System makes tiny exact incisions that human hands might not be able to make. This offers enhanced control to surgeons and if the surgery is less invasive than traditional surgery, the result is a faster healing time for patients.
• The Xenex Germ Zapping Robot--Hospital acquired infections are a problem in healthcare that could improve with the use of robots. To combat the problem Xenex, an automated and portable robot can be used to disinfect hospital rooms in minutes by using pulsed full spectrum UV rays that can kill a range of infectious bacteria.
• The PARO Therapeutic Robot--This robot is designed to improve the quality of life during recovery from surgery or can be used to treat depression or other mental illnesses. This robot is an interactive device and designed to provide the benefits of animal therapy without relying on live animals. Animal therapy is a common tool for easing patient stress but there are not always trained animals available to satisfy the need.
• The CyberKnife Robot--This robot is a robotic surgery system that delivers radiation therapy to tumors with sub-millimeter precision. This system is now being used to treat cancer at hospitals and treatment centers in the U.S. This system is a radiation source mounted on a robot, to allow for a targeted beam of radiotherapy that then maneuvers and adopts quickly to deliver radiation to a tumor repositioning itself at many minutely different angles to target the tumor from all sides without repositioning the patient.
• The TUG--This robot is used to transport supplies, meals, and other materials in the hospital. The TUG, an autonomous mobile robot developed by Aethon Inc., is used to ferry supplies to wherever they are needed.