Hospital In Boston To Use Robots To Help Treat Positive COVID-19 Patients

A robot that helps treat COVID-19 patients in Boston, USA. (Photo: Boston Dynamics)

JAKARTA - All kinds of technology are often used to help deal with the COVID-19 outbreak around the world, including making a tool. One of them is Boston Dynamics, which helps protect medical staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital during a pandemic using robots.

The company hopes the robots can reduce the exposure of doctors and staff to COVID-19 and help hospitals save on scarce supplies of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The existence of this robot is to reduce tension between medical workers who require them to work non-stop. A robot has also taken over human jobs at a hospital in Wuhan, China in March, for example, replacing them during a break that medical staff badly need.

It is known that the four-legged Spot robot has been used in a Boston hospital to help nurses taking care of COVID-19 patients. Boston Dynamics currently has ambitious plans to expand its use of robots to assist healthcare workers during the pandemic.

The company from Waltham, United States (US) is also sharing the Spot robot designs that can be accessed through GitHub, and aims to encourage other robot companies to join forces.

The Brigham and Women's Hospital at Harvard University is the first to use the Spot unit since last week to identify patients suspected of having COVID-19. Today, Boston Dynamics, previously owned by Google and now owned by Japanese communications giant SoftBank, uses Spot as a telemedicine machine.

This robot is designed to fit an iPad or similar sized screen that will be used for video conferencing between doctors and other healthcare workers and their patients.

Photo: Boston Dynamics

"Today marks the second week of Spot's presence at a local Boston hospital, Brigham and Women's, where the robot is deployed as a mobile telemedicine platform, enabling healthcare providers to remotely triage patients. We are listening to their feedback on how Spot can do more. many but are encouraged by their reports that using robots has helped their nursing staff minimize the time they are exposed to potentially infectious patients, "the company said in its official statement.

Telemedicine is only the beginning for the possible use of Spot in medical settings. Boston Dynamics is now investigating ways to equip robots with the ability to measure key vital signs, such as temperature and oxygen saturation in humans. And Spot can also be part of the cleaning service needed for hospitals and public spaces later to spray disinfectant liquid.

"By installing a UV-C lamp or other technology on the back of the robot, Spot can use the device to kill virus particles and disinfect surfaces in any unstructured space that needs support in decontamination, be it a hospital tent or a metro station," the company said. quoted from The Verge.