The Robot That Visits Patients When Doctors Can't

A new type of robot is assisting doctors in the interaction with the patients. It's not exactly performing brain surgery, but it can take the place of the doctor via a satellite uplink and organize a doctor-patient videoconference even if the two are tens or hundreds of miles apart.

This is not the first time robots are assisting doctors, since robot assisted surgery is common practice and there is another prototype, a "caterpillar robot" that crawls over the surface of a beating heart to deliver drugs or other treatments.

The RP-7 Remote Presence Robotic System by InTouch Technologies, or Bari, short for the bariatric surgery Gandsas practices, was delivered at Baltimore's Sinai Hospital and it is guided via joystick into the rooms of Dr. Alex Gandsas' patients, where he acts like an avatar for the doctor by letting him speak to them as if he were right there.

For that, the robot is equipped with cameras, a screen and microphone and, according to Michael Chan, executive vice president of the manufacturing company, it gives doctors the possibility to "be in more than one place at once," as he declared in an AP article by Alex Dominguez.

"The system allows you to be anywhere in the hospital from anywhere in the world," explains Dr. Gandsas, a weight-loss surgery specialist. "They love it. They'd rather see me through the robot," he commented on the patient's reaction.

It may cost $150,000, but it can monitor and assist patients in case of emergencies long before the doctor could arrive at the hospital. It is also used for psychological treatments and the overall impression, making the patients feel as if the doctor is permanently by their bedside.

"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," said Dr. Louis Kavoussi, chairman of the urology department at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, after studying patient satisfaction after using the robot.