Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
InTouch Companion: Medical Rounding Robot
InTouch Health is now leasing a remote-controlled medical telepresence robot called The Companion to hospitals and nursing homes nationwide. The 200 pound robots stand about five feet tall and have computer screens for "heads"; they are controlled remotely by physicians with a wireless broadband Internet connection, the right software and a joystick control.
(From Robotic doctor makes the rounds at Oakwood)
Rounding Robots Save Time
The purpose of the "rounding robots" is to allow physicians who admit patients to widely separated medical centers to be able to round (that is, visit or provide a consultation to) their patients without having to waste hours of travel time in their cars. Patients can see their own doctor and speak with him or her in real time; the physicians can also see and hear their patients.The robot can travel about 2 miles per hour; a safety mechanism uses infrared warning sensors to keep the robot from bumping into people and objects. InTouch leases them for about $3,000 per month, which includes hardware, software and support.
See the medical mantis from Peter Watts Starfish for a taste of how a medical telefactoring experience might work.
Most Patients Are Comfortable with Rounding Robots
See also the story Patients happy with robo-doc which details a Johns Hopkins study on the use of this technology; 57% of patients thought they felt comfortable with "telerounding" and 50% preferred a telerounding visit from their own physician to a visit from a real doctor they didn't know. Read more about medical telepresence techologies at The Medical Telepresence Tour.Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 5/9/2004)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 9 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?'' - Isaac Asimov (1940)
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...' - Elizabeth Bellamy, 1899.
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the 'long, flexible, glittering tentacles...' - HG Wells, 1898
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Tiny Flying Robot Weighs Just One Gram
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
Some Ringworld Configurations Are Stable
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
TRANSFORM Dynamic Furniture Concept Becomes What You Need
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
Harvard Metamaterials Change Structure Instantly
'Annealed in any shape for a time, and codified, the structure of that shape is retained down to the molecules.'
SnapBot Robots - You Choose Their Legs And They Choose Their Gaits
It's not really polite to tear the limbs off robots.
Dino From Magical Toys An AI Companion To Children
'...the imaginary companions discovered by needful children.'
Humanoid Robots Building Humanoid Robots
''Pardon me, Struthers,' he broke in suddenly... 'haven't you a section of the factory where only robot labor is employed?''
Darpa 'Defiant' Unmanned Autonomous Ship
'There was no wheel, and no steersman!'
What's The Best Way To Ship And Unpack Humanoid Robots?
'I opened the oblong box, where lay the automatons side by side...'
DNA Printed Book By Isaac Asimov Now Available
'They tied the memory to the bloodline and that was their record!'
AI Computer Chip Designs Passeth Human Understanding
'It seems that at one time computers were designed directly by human beings.'
Space Traffic Management (STM) Needed Now
'...the spot was a lonely one in an uncharted region, far from the normal lanes of space traffic.'
Fine-Tune Your Infinite Book The Way You Want It
'I squatted down beside the roller and tried to make some sense out of the knobs. There were thirty-nine of them...'
SpiRobs Soft Spiral Robotic Arm
'Beware the long, flexible, glittering tentacles...'
Holland Factory 3D Printing 500 Tons Of Steak Per Month
'...I don’t understand technical things — tell me, does it ever feel anything?"
Stratospheric Solar Geoengineering From Harvard
'Pina2bo would have to operate full blast for many years to put as much SO2 into the stratosphere as its namesake had done in a few minutes.'
