Inspenet, July 24, 2023.
Robot doctors?
Researchers at the University of Sheffield have created innovative robotic technology to deliver remote medical treatment in dangerous emergency situations.
Medical teleexistence (MediTel) technology enables clinicians and operators to assess critical casualties in high-risk environments using a robot-controlled Unmanned Ground Vehicle (UGV).
This unique solution was developed in just nine months and features two robotic arms that remotely operate medical tools . Within 20 minutes, they perform an initial assessment that includes temperature, blood pressure, and heart rate checks, as well as palpation of the abdomen and administration of pain relief via autoinjector. All of this is transmitted in real time to the remote operator, ensuring the safety of everyone involved.
David King, Head of Digital Design at AMRC and Sanja Dogramadzi, Professor of Medical Robotics and Smart Health Technologies in the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering and Director of Sheffield Robotics, led the project.
King said: “Our MediTel project has demonstrated a revolutionary medical tele-existence technology that has the potential to save lives and provide remote assessment and treatment of victims in high-risk settings, such as humanitarian disasters.”
“Developing and field testing a complex state-of-the-art system like MediTel in just nine months has been an incredible achievement and a testament to the skills and capabilities of the entire project team.”
According to King, the project created a complete solution for triaging victims in dangerous environments. MediTel has combined advanced medical devices and robotic systems , enabling critical diagnostics in challenging terrain.
Professor Dogramadzi noted that the platform can be used by multiple emergency services and opens up opportunities for broader research. They seek to enable resilient autonomy and integrate other detection modalities in remote environments.
About teleexistence technologies
MediTel was one of three tele-existence technologies funded by a £2.3 million innovation competition, organized by the Defense and Security Accelerator (DASA), on behalf of joint funders, Dstl and NDA.
Dr. Nicky Armstrong, Dstl’s technical lead, highlights that teleexistence technologies have the potential to protect users in hazardous environments and quickly provide specialists when needed.
“Prototype technologies developed under the Dstl Telexistence project have allowed us to demonstrate the art of the possible to end users, so we can better understand where teleexistence could add value to defense and security environments.”
The AMRC led the design and prototype of the UGV, while the Department of Automatic Control and Systems Engineering developed the robotic controls for the MediTel project. After extensive testing, they demonstrated that the UGV could successfully assess and classify victims.
The team is seeking additional funding and partners to harness the potential of MediTel in the medical assessment of dangerous situations. The future vision is to create a large-scale, integrated emergency medical platform that can be rapidly deployed in humanitarian disasters and enable remote doctors to deliver critical, life-saving treatment.
Source: https://www.amrc.co.uk/news/new-robots-to-provide-remote-medical-treatment-in-hazardous-environments
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