Date:20/05/2005 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2005/05/20/stories/2005052003932200.htm

International

Robot medics with gentle bedside manner

David Adam

LONDON: For a machine that looks like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a metal-clad space alien, RP6, Britain's first robot doctor, has a gentle bedside manner. But then it is fitted with an image of the doctor on its "face," in this case Parv Sains, a surgical specialist at St. Mary's Hospital, London.

The Remote Presence 6 — nicknamed "Sister Mary" — is one of two robot medics performing ward rounds in a telemedicine trial at St Mary's.

Gliding from bed to bed, the robot does not physically examine people, but is fitted with a video screen that allows patients to communicate, face-to-virtual face with the doctor who performed their surgery or specialists anywhere in the world. The doctor controls the robot with a joystick. Cameras allow them to see the patient and ask questions.

Mr. Sains said: "Our robots would never replace all doctors on ward rounds, but they are a communication tool which allows a doctor to have direct contact with their patient. If we look at the current strains on the [U.K. health service], many senior doctors with specialist skills and knowledge are required to be in several places at once. This allows them to log on, see the patient and make a decision."