Apr 29

Apr 29 Spot the Robot Dog Doctor is Helping Medical Professionals see Patients during Pandemic

Spot the robot dog doctor is ready to see you now. Boston Dynamics have developed a robot that takes the form of a dog that is helping medical staff at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

During the coronavirus pandemic, the robot will be helping medical staff at the hospital in hopes to limit their exposure to the virus. Spot is also helping the hospital staff conserve personal protective equipment supplies.

Spot has been through a successful test run at the Boston hospital, fully equipped with an iPad and two-way radio that lets hospital staff communication with patients who are receiving an initial health assessment. In Wuhan, China, robots replaced humans at a field hospitals. This allowed for the medical professionals to take advantage of a much needed break. The same is a goal for Spot in Boston.

"For every intake shift completed by a teleoperated robot shift, at least one health care provider is able to reduce their interaction with the disease," Boston Dynamic reported in a blog post.

Spot is now just practicing telemedicine, however Spot can also become part of the critical cleaning crew necessary to keep hospitals and public places clean. "By attaching a UV-C light or other technology to the robot's back, Spot could use the device to kill virus particles and disinfect surfaces in any unstructured space that needs support in decontamination -- be it hospital tents or metro stations," Boston Dynamics said. The robotics company is also researching how the robot can be given the ability to measure vital signs such as temperature and oxygen saturation.

Boston Dynamics is making the hardware and software for Dr. Spot available as open-source designs through GitHub. This will allow other robotics organizations the ability to develop their own robots in the fight against COVID-19.

“Our hope is that these tools can enable developers and roboticists to rapidly deploy robots in order to reduce risks to medical staff,” said Boston Dynamics.

Story via CNET