The use of robots in medical field is no longer science fictions. The seeds are the innovation of technology such as artificial intelligence, miniaturisation and machine learning. Medical robotics is a medical field that took of in the early 1990s. While the implementation is costly, the benefits are worthy especially in the situation where humans limitation become the inhibitor like the Covid-19 crisis.The outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic has led to various negative impacts to public health including the healthcare workers. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is reported that at least 115000 healthcare workers had died of Covid-19. This figure had made it crucial for the utilisation of robots in medical practices. What are the contribution of medical robots in fighting against Covid-19 pandemic?
It is clear to us on how to prevent the spreading of Covid-19.
Source: World Health Organization (WHO) Western Pacific Region
Similarly, in the medical field, the method is to reduce or avoid direct contact. With robots playing their roles as the front liners in medical field, the spreading of Covid-19 can be lowered as direct contacts between humans and Covid-19 are reduced.
1. Temperature monitoring
It is compulsory to check the body temperature of patients that enter the hospital. Robots are equipped with thermal cameras to carry out this procedure instead. This helps reduce transmission of the Covid-19 from one person to another as well as reduce the need for the healthcare workers to become in contact with the patients.
2. Covid-19 Testing
Until today, millions of swab testing are conducted by the healthcare workers which can increase the probability of the workers to be infected with Covid-19. It is known that a team of doctors and engineers from Denmark are developing a fully automated swab robot to ease the Covid-19 testing. This invention will contribute in two things in particular; faster Covid-19 testing and lesser contact with patients.
3. Running errands
The hospitals had become busier due to Covid-19. It is important to avoid shorthanded in order to provide efficient services to the patients. The use of robots that are programmed to run errands by carrying out repetitive chores such as fetching supplies and delivering them to the healthcare workers can overcome this problem while providing time for the workers to focus on a more critical roles.
4. Sanitization and sterilisation
Hospitals and Covid-19 screening centers need to be sanitized at every time as it is highly visited by the Covid-19 patients or carriers. The use of robots reduces the risk and exposure to the workers while sanitizing the affected area. In addition, sterilisation and sanitization can be done more often without the need to pay more attention on workers’ schedule and safety precaution to avoid infection.
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