According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academics, medication errors are the most common medical errors harming at least 1.5 million people annually. This costs about $3.5 billion a year. The new Intellifill IV from ForHealth Technologies aims to cure this problem by being “In ur pharmacies, sortin ur meds”.
Alison Apple, the pharmacy administrator at Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee says, “The IntelliFill i.v. robotic technology is simply amazing and ensures medication safety through the use of barcodes.”
Oh yeah? Click through for a video on what robots really do with old people and their meds. Read the rest of this entry »
Being mobile is for chumps, but even you, my sedentary friends, will likely come across situations where you’ll need to move. To grab some more bed-sore ointment, for instance. Luckily, over at Honda they’ve been cooking up some robotic legs that will make short work of your hitherto annoying need for conveyance.
Perhaps not a robot in the true sense, but billed as such throughout the blogosphere, Honda’s legs are essentially wearable supports with small motors. The wonderlegs “reduce the strains of walking, standing and crouching” and are apparently “as easy to use as a bicycle.” Though, chances are if you need robotic legs to walk, you probably don’t remember what it’s like to ride a bicycle.
No word yet on pricing or availability. Honda plans to start testing these kickers irl with Honda factories. Not only will old people like the robo-legs, but factory workers who are required to be in uncomfortable, repetitive postures will benefit as well.
So if you don’t want to strap yourself into a robot that looks like it will destroy your anus and snap your kneecaps, the Honda legs aren’t for you. But if you need some robo-in’ to get where you’re goin’, then by all means, automate those gams.
Heart surgery is risky business. When heart surgery is performed, the ol’ bloodpump has to be removed because, of course, it’s easier for a surgeon to work with a non-beating heart. Cardiopulmonary bypass machines are used to keep the blood flowing, but there are still dangers involved and brain damage is a major risk. A new robot, however, may make it possible for surgeons to operate on still-beating hearts.
A team comprised of members from Harvard University and the Children’s Hospital of Boston has developed a robotic tool that compensates for the movements of a beating heart, thus allowing a surgeon to work with the gears spinnin. A 3D ultrasound system senses data about the heart like size, shape, and movements. Software in the bot then predicts the heart’s next movement 70 to 100 milliseconds early. The surgical tool slides back and forth to account for the heart’s beating movements.
The robot has had successful animal trials but is still under development. Here’s a short clip of the bot in action.
This “1-DOF Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) compatible needle driver robot for radiofrequency ablation (RFA),” as it’s technically billed, could be an important breakthrough for breast-cancer treatment. This robot from researchers at the University of Maryland can perform a breast biopsy, and then if cancer cells are detected, a robotic probe will go in and destroy them. The technology is in the prototype phase right now and will need to go through the necessary FDA/clinical trials steps before coming to a hospital near you, but if found to be safe, its implementation would be beneficial.
The robotic probe is special because it is made from steel and titanium, so it can operate inside the strong magnetic field generated by an MRI machine. This allows doctors to remotely operate the bot while still being able to view what’s going on on the inside. Rao Gullapalli, a radiologist professor from University of Baltimore who is involved with the project said, “With the robot, the three months between mammogram and treatment can be reduced to a hospital visit and the cancer can be stopped before it spreads.”
Paralyzed individuals may be able to walk again with aid from the Cyberdyne suit out of Japan. Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at Tsukuba University near Tokyo, introduced the robotic suit at a news conference today. The suit is like a powered exoskeleton, granting new movement to its wearers.
The robot suit receives signals from the brain that move over the skin with the anticipation of muscle movement—the signals are translated to robo-movement as Cyberdyne does its thing. Sankai refuses that his robotic suit technology be used for military purposes, saying “I believe technology becomes useful only when it works for people.” Future implementation of the technology could be used to help construction workers and others who have to lift heavy loads, making a hundred pounds feel like much less. Cyberdyne will be leasing 500 of the battery-operated suits this week.
[AFP]
In addition to becoming bionic, prostheses may soon help a person feel bionic too. Bionic hands with gelled fingertips may be the answer to giving the wearer a sense of touch and sensitivity. It may even help them instinctively hold objects. That’s because humans have a reflexes that respond to vibrations. The top part of the bionic hand would consist of a rubber skin filled with silicon gel.
When an object slips, the skin transmits the vibrations through the gel to acoustic sensors, giving the wearer feedback so that the motors can tighten their grip. Also, the finger is also covered with electrodes, which change the electric conduction to accompany the pressure. So now they will be able to feel as well as function.
As far as medical dummies go, iStan is pretty smart. He just wants you to think he’s stupid laying there all dummy-like. This isn’t your granddads CPR dolly. Advanced dummies like the iStan make sure that emergency workers get their practice in on him, not you. Which is fortunate for you.
iStan mimics a live patient in all the ways that count in the medical field. Often those who perform CPR for the first time are surprised at how firm the chest is, as you’ll be pushing down against the sternum. The iStan will give plenty of resistance with it’s full skeleton, lungs and a simulated nervous system. He can also simulate a wide variety of problems, anything from bladder complications to life-threatening conditions. To top it all off iStan is controlled wirelessly and operates without a tether, which helps creates the illusion that it’s a real, breathing person. So if you get your life saved by some kind human, you might want to thank iStan.
Researchers from Israel are working on a swallowable camera that can be used to diagnose and treat illnesses. This camera would be controlled by robotic technology and can potentially provide valuable insight into the functioning of a patient’s internal organs. Researchers from Italy, France, Switzerland and Spain are getting in on the action too and have formed a collaboration called the ARES, and are working on multi-capsules that are like snakes and can self-assemble inside a patient’s stomach.
They would perform functions like like imaging, power, and taking samples as well as other complex tasks. It’s a work in progress. Battery size is the main issue as it takes up more than 60% of the volume. Once they work that out humans will be popping bots like they pop pills.
Researchers at MIT are developing a robotic wheelchair that will memorize the layout of a building, then take the user where he/she wants to go with voice commands. By saying something as simple as “take me to my room” the robotic wheelchair would navigate to that destination without the user having to control every maneuver in the trip. Assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics Nicholas Roy says that the wheelchair will adapt to the user and the surroundings; that the robots will be personalized for different users.
The robochair learns about its environment by being pushed once around a building, with key parts of the building being noted. For example, while passing the cafeteria, the patient or caregiver would say something like “here is the cafeteria”, so the robot would be able to find the location later. This is similar to how a human would learn to navigate a new environment, through physical exposure to different areas.
Professor of computer science and engineering Seth Teller is another researcher working on the project—he’s also part of another team at MIT that is working on other gizmos with situational awareness; things like a location aware cellphone to an industrial forklift.
GPS is a fine technology for placing things outdoors, but inside buildings engineers need to use different approaches to locating things. Using tech like WiFi, cameras, and lasers, these researchers hope to further explore the possibility of situational awareness. Teller says, “I’m interested in having robots build and maintain a high-fidelity model of the world.”
Right now, the robotic wheelchair relies on a series of WiFi nodes around a facility to let the robot know where it is. The wheelchair is currently being used in preliminary real-world trials at the Boston Home in Dorchester. Future improvements to the chair will probably be an obstacle avoidance system, and perhaps even robotic arms to let patients manipulate their environment from the chair. Microsoft and Nokia are funding the research.
So it’s clear that as robots become smarter, our geriatric future looks brighter. We’ll have robots mowing our lawns, cleaning our houses, and making us food while we tell our robot wheelchair, “take me to the sex dungeon” where we’ll settle down for a night of romping with the robot harem.
If you have 30,000 yen per month lying around, and you have problems with mobility due to physical handicap or warcraft, consider renting Japan’s recently unveiled robotic dog nurse.
One of the main functions of this robobitch is to carry stuff—up to about 4 pounds of whatever’s weighing you down.
There’s also a camera on the pup’s back for surveillance purposes of some kind. The dog weighs around 11 pounds, stands about 28 inches high and 21 inches wide. It is obvious that robots will play a visible role in the field of health care in the future. Yes, the enslavement of robots is on the horizon. The robotic dog nurse is on lease for five years, but there’s no telling when it will be on sale. Hopefully soon, because I want a bagel and I really don’t feel like getting it.
Being mobile is for chumps, but even you, my sedentary friends, will likely come across situations where you’ll need to move. To grab some more bed-sore ointment, for instance. Luckily, over at Honda they’ve been cooking up some robotic legs that will make short work of your hitherto annoying need for conveyance.
Heart surgery is risky business. When heart surgery is performed, the ol’ bloodpump has to be removed because, of course, it’s easier for a surgeon to work with a non-beating heart. Cardiopulmonary bypass machines are used to keep the blood flowing, but there are still dangers involved and brain damage is a major risk. A new robot, however, may make it possible for surgeons to operate on still-beating hearts.
This “1-DOF Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) compatible needle driver robot for radiofrequency ablation (RFA),” as it’s technically billed, could be an important breakthrough for breast-cancer treatment. This robot from researchers at the University of Maryland can perform a breast biopsy, and then if cancer cells are detected, a robotic probe will go in and destroy them. The technology is in the prototype phase right now and will need to go through the necessary FDA/clinical trials steps before coming to a hospital near you, but if found to be safe, its implementation would be beneficial.
Paralyzed individuals may be able to walk again with aid from the Cyberdyne suit out of Japan. Yoshiyuki Sankai, a professor at Tsukuba University near Tokyo, introduced the robotic suit at a news conference today. The suit is like a powered exoskeleton, granting new movement to its wearers.
Researchers at MIT are developing a robotic wheelchair that will memorize the layout of a building, then take the user where he/she wants to go with voice commands. By saying something as simple as “take me to my room” the robotic wheelchair would navigate to that destination without the user having to control every maneuver in the trip. Assistant professor of aeronautics and astronautics Nicholas Roy says that the wheelchair will adapt to the user and the surroundings; that the robots will be personalized for different users.
If you have 30,000 yen per month lying around, and you have problems with mobility due to physical handicap or warcraft, consider renting Japan’s recently unveiled robotic dog nurse.