'Jetson' Robots in Hospitals

What exactly is the Jetson Style?   How will people react? 

ACM TECHNEWS

Jetsons-Style Robots Invading Chicago-Area Hospitals

By Chicago Tribune, December 21, 2022

Hospital staffers hold elevator doors for a Moxi robot.

Moxi robots deliver medication and shuttle supplies and small pieces of equipment across three Chicago-area hospitals. ... ' 

Roughly human in shape, Moxi robots have been deployed in at least three Chicago-area hospitals amid a shortage of medical workers.

Developed by Diligent Robotics and leased by the hospitals via subscription, the robots deliver medication and transport supplies and small pieces of equipment throughout the facilities.

Nurses summon the robot by entering requests into an application on a tablet; when it arrives, they show their badge to a detector so they can open any of Moxi's three drawers to insert items before dispatching the unit on its task.

Moxi uses sensors to navigate and has a single arm to push buttons to open doors.

The concept is to have Moxi give nurses more time to care for patients, rather than having them convey items across the hospital.

From Chicago Tribune

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Some Hospitals Tracking Covid-19 by Adding Sensors to Employees' Badges

Makes sense to add sensors to track internal status of employees.  Could likely be linked to networks of contacts outside the hospital.

Some Hospitals Tracking Covid-19 by Adding Sensors to Employees' Badges
CNBC
Christina Farr

About 50 hospitals currently use sensor technology from electronic hygiene tracking platform developer SwipeSense to monitor whether staff are washing their hands when they enter and exit patient rooms, and to keep tabs on expensive equipment like wheelchairs. The Covid-19 pandemic has extended the technology's application to contact tracing, with sensors added to employees' badges to monitor their movements. If a staffer is diagnosed with the virus, SwipeSense allows hospital administrators to ascertain retroactively who might have been in close proximity to the infected individual, and take remedial steps. The SwipeSense platform safeguards privacy by not tracking individuals throughout the day, or outside of patient rooms.  .... "

Healthcare Hospital Assistant

Had previously mentioned an IBM Watson powered hospital assistant system.  Care was taken there to not deal with any patient data.    Seems the same is true here with a test called Aiva.   Note also the linkage to workflow, how can we make hospitals more efficient by leveraging people with an RPA (Robotic Process Automation) approach?  Overlaying key detected patterns of use?  Many more examples in the links below.

An LA hospital will put Alexa in over 100 patients' rooms

It provides a hands-free way to call for healthcare providers and to control the TV.

By Mariella Moon, @mariella_moon  in Engadget  ... "

Meet Aiva, the world’s first voice-powered care assistant.  Hands-free communication for happier patients and better workflow.  .... "    On AivaHealth.

See more on Hospital Virtual Assistants.

Alexa as Companion for Hospital Stay

An example of AI and chatbot digital assistants being tested for hospital patient interaction.  See the tag below: 'Hospital Virtual Assistants'  for more diverse examples and coverage.   I will continue to use this tag in coming days.   Please pass along other examples you may have.

Alexa: 24/7 Companion for a Long Hospital Stay   by Richard Satterwhite

Patient Engagement Specialist, Office of the Patient/Family Experience ...  "  

Robotics in Hospital Operations

Continuing my look at Hospital Operations and AI/Robotics/Assistants,  especially with regard to patient interaction and comfort.

Adoption of Robotics Into a Hospital's Daily Operations Requires Broad Cooperation  VTT Technical Research Center

Researchers at the VTT Technical Research Center of Finland have analyzed deploying a logistics robot system at the Seinajoki Central Hospital in South Ostrobothnia, Finland, with the goal of cutting transportation costs, improving supplies availability, and mitigating congestion in hospital hallways via 24/7 deliveries. The researchers found the system's success relied on joint planning and dialogue between occupational groups and stakeholders. Of particular importance was accounting for the interdependencies between various players, along with their roles in the hospital's core task. The researchers note the smooth process of robotic adoption overall demands careful planning, piloting, and implementation. "As the system is expanded with new robots and types of deliveries, even more guidance, communication, and dialogue is needed," says VTT's Inka Lappalainen. "Joint planning that brings various players to the same table ensures that the system's implementation goes as smoothly as possible, making it easier to achieve the desired overall benefits." ...  ' 

Video Detecting Infection Patterns

Looking for patterns in healthcare using video that lead to infection.

Researchers use AI to monitor hospital staff hygiene
The technology could be used to reduce rates of hospital-acquired infections.

By Mallory Locklear,   @mallorylocklear  in Engadget. 

Hospital-acquired infections are a pesky problem and around one in 25 hospital patients have at least one healthcare-associated illness at any given time. To combat this issue, a research team based at Stanford University turned to depth cameras and computer vision to observe activity on hospital wards -- a system that could be used to track hygienic practices of hospital staff and visitors in order to spot behaviors that might contribute to the spread of infection. The work is being presented at the Machine Learning in Healthcare Conference later this week.  ... " 

Versustech

Recently looked at efficiency delivery in healthcare systems.  Here is one company that links location to efficiency.   Versustech.    Real time location system  (RTLS)  a part of Midmark.

Assistants in the Hospital

One of the earliest suggestions for virtual assistants was to have them answer questions and perform simple non-medical tasks in hospitals and other health care facilities.  Huge amounts of professional time are expended this way.   Issues of data and patient security quickly came up.  It was said the popular assistants could not handle those issues.  But it appears work has been under way by Harman and IBM Watson to address the problem.  Note that Harman is now owned by Samsung.

 " .... Thanks to AI, you'll never be ignored at a hospital again  From CNET Magazine: IBM's Watson takes on the scut work at a Philadelphia hospital, so nurses can focus on what matters.   By Shara Tibken

It's why Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals in Philadelphia decided to work with audio giant Harman and IBM's Watson artificial intelligence technology. Together, they developed smart speakers that will respond to about a dozen commands. When a patient says "Watson," the speakers can, for instance, play calming sounds and adjust the room's lighting, thermostat and blinds.

"This is a way for patients to get some simple comfort measures addressed just by speaking," says Dr. Andrew Miller, associate chief medical officer at the Philadelphia hospital group. "How great is that?"

For the hospital, it's just the beginning. ... "

Unclear what plans are underway to roll this out more broadly.   Beyond just the voice interaction it does imply that considerable infrastructure changes have to be made to implement physical interactions with rooms, say to close the blinds or even adjust the lights.

(Update 8/12/17)
Why Hospitals Are In Pursuit Of The Ideal Amazon Alexa App  In Forbes: 

Robert Glatter, MD , 

Consumers now enjoy using Alexa, the super-cool voice technology in the nifty Amazon Echo device that helps make life around the home easier. In its short time on the market, it has become almost indispensable according to some tech aficionados. .... "