Speci-Minder delivers patient samples autonomously
By Darren Murph 
posted Feb 26th 2007 3:41AM
posted Feb 26th 2007 3:41AM
Although the mainstream media would have you to believe that the nursing field is a great one to get into, we're starting to doubt the longevity of RNs here of late. Of course, there's no substitute (right?) for a nurse's touch, but just after we got wind that the IWARD nursebot would be handling the third shift duties and the HOSPI would handle all the bloodwork, there's not too many more aspects that need TLC. Unfortunately for humans, the Speci-Minder is stepping up to the plate to handle one more task, as it autonomously delivers medical samples to laboratories, enabling the staff to "spend more time with their patients." This collaborative effort between CSS Robotics and MobileRobots is already loose in Christiana Hospital near Wilmington, DE, and it can supposedly "adjust to changing environments sans wires, reflectors, or traditional guidance," allowing it to find its own way around without crashing into flesh and blood co-workers or structural obstacles. Apparently, the bots are ready and willing to go to work for your hospital ward for an undisclosed up-front charge, but we seriously doubt these poor machines will ever see a dime for their efforts. [Warning: PDF read link]
Most decently modern hospitals have tube systems similar to most banks that transport everything but cultures and CSF anywhere (including the lab)
Just as a point of interest, none of these things the bots do are actually things that are part of an RN's job description.
Behold, the Auto Med Student 3000!
lintsniffer, the tubes don't go from EVERYWHERE to the lab...usually just several busy locations (ICU, ER, OR Recovery room, etc).
it seems to me like this is a security risk - some guy on parole needs clean urine, and there is an open tray of it rolling by him...
We have several bots in our hospitals to deliver meds, pick up specimens for path, deliver supplies, etc. In one of the hospitals, small bots hook up to bigger carts and tow them autonomously around the hospital. Its kind of neat to see them call the elevator (wirelessly), wait patiently, then charge to block the door so no one else can have that car. They have issues: every now and then you will see one in a corner beeping plaintively for help or two facing off in a corridor trying to work out who will pass first. All in all they seem pretty efficient.
But no, they don't do anything a nurse can do and we desperately need nurses for the foreseeable future!
I volunteered at a hospital one summer and I did exactly this, the stuff was usually in a brown bag. I can walk faster that this machine and I can take the stairs which are faster than the elevators in A hospital. I was only called to do this job when the tube system was down and overloaded at the time and the specimen could not wait. Humans are more efficient, especially the ones who volunteer( free labor), so why spend millions developing a robot, which get confused, to take the job of someone who is not paid in the first place???
Most newer hospitals, like the one at which I practice, have tube systems that work very well, however, most older hospitals, like the one at which I trained, do not. Retrofitting an older hospital with a tube system would be very expensive if not impossible. These robots might have a role in these older institutions. Although, as noted above, there might be problems with urine specimens disappearing, and an army of young healthy volunteer couriers would probably work better, and could also do double duty delivering drugs.
We robots are far more flexible and inexpensive than the tube systems. But I'm happy to discuss wages: (http://patrolbot.blogspot.com/)