A dog-like mobile robot named Dr. Spot could promote medical treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a new connection between isolated patients and doctors who need to see them.
The four-legged robot was designed to help assessments by making the canine machine with a video camera, which is connected to a doctor, visit patients who need to be isolated, the New York Post reported.
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we wanted to help protect healthcare professionals from the virus by limiting their exposure to patients potentially infected with COVID,” said Giovanni Traverso, assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who worked on the project.
“We wondered if we could do this by incorporating robotic systems in healthcare settings and if patients would be willing to engage with robots during their assessments,” he said.
In a new study published this month, Traverso and colleagues Peter Chai and Henwei Huang described how patients responded to medical attention from robots.
“People are very positive and accept robotic systems in healthcare settings, especially during the pandemic,” said Traverso.
Dr. Spot, a robot built to help doctors see patients without direct contact during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic
The robot developed by MIT and Boston Dynamics can perform small procedures, such as evaluation of vital signs, collection of nasal swabs and placement of intravenous catheters
The researchers conducted a national survey of 1,000 people to analyze their ideas about receiving medical services from robots.
“We found that people across the country were willing to get involved with robots, particularly systems that facilitate telehealth and systems that facilitate the measurement of vital signs such as heart rate, respiratory rate and oxygen levels,” said Traverso.
Giovanni Traverso is an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who helped develop Dr. Spot
The researchers then teamed up with engineering and robotics design firm Boston Dynamics, near Waltham, Massachusetts, to build Dr. Spot.
Dr. Spot is made of aluminum, plastic and circuit boards and, like some other robotic doctors, can perform minor procedures, including vital sign evaluation, nasal swab collection and placement of intravenous catheters.
“It takes a few months to build a robot,” said Marco da Silva, one of the main roboticists at Boston Dynamic, which is owned by SoftBank Group Corp.
Boston Dynamics’ product offerings start at around $ 74,500, with the option of additional customizations that can cost more than $ 20,000 each, its website said.
Da Silva said that six more weeks are needed to build the specialized software and the necessary modifications to give Spot the ability to perform patient assessments.
Marco da Silva, a leading roboticist at Boston Dynamic who worked on the Dr. Spot project
The researchers introduced Dr. Spot to 40 patients in the emergency department at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
The team set up an iPad on the Spot’s base, which displayed a live video, person to person, allowing doctors and nurses to conduct telehealth interviews with patients while operating the robot with a remote control.
Sophisticated robo-doc cameras and computer systems that can identify a face even if the patient is wearing a mask. It can also assess body temperature, respiration and pulse rates and uses special lens filters to determine blood oxygen saturation.
People are standing on the lawn outside Building 10 on the Massachusetts Institute of Technology campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Boston Dynamics’ headquarters in Waltham, Massachusetts. The robotics and engineering firm teamed up with MIT to work on the Dr. Spot project
“Overall, patients in the emergency department responded very favorably to Dr. Spot, especially as he reduces the risk of person-to-person exposure to COVID,” said Traverso.
More than 90 percent of patients reported that their interactions with the robot were satisfactory and said they were willing to interact with more robotic systems, the study said.
“Robotics, to some extent, is already used in hospital environments,” said Traverso. “But in the COVID-19 scenario, we are seeing that robotic systems can really play a significant role in healthcare based on people’s high acceptance.”