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Monday July 16, 2007
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 Hate it when you really need to speak with your doctor while waiting for hours in your hospital bed, only to discover he's not there? Thanks to a robot, a few cameras and a microphone, you can talk to your doctor when you need him the most.
At Baltimore's Sinai Hospital, a joystick-controlled robot has cameras, a screen, and microphone in which Dr. Alex Gandsas uses to speak to his patients through while he's away. He came up with the idea as a way to monitor weight-loss patients more closely day or night.
The $150,000 RP-7 Remote Presence Robotic System by InTouch Technologies can "circle the bed and adjust the position of its two cameras, giving 'the perception from the patient's standpoint that the doctor is there,' the surgeon said." What do the patients think of Doctor Robot? They actually love the idea. A study conducted by Gandsas revealed that out of his 376 patients, 92 of them who had additional robotic visits had shorter hospital stays.
Approximately 120 of these robots are used in hospitals worldwide. "This is a very rudimentary robot. It doesn't do a whole lot other than videoconference with patients. But it's the beginning of this technology," Kavoussi said, adding robots might not be the only form the technology takes. Strange? Very. So the next time you're at the hospital, don't be surprised if you'll have to talk with a robot!
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