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RP-VITA bringing its telepresence to seven North American hospitals
We've already seen the RP-VITA in action -- and so, for that matter, has the FDA. Now iRobot / InTouch Health's telepresence 'bot is ready to take the field. The companies today jointly unveiled a list of seven US and Mexican hospitals that will be using the iPad-friendly wheeled robot. The list includes a handful of locations that helped demo RP-VITA ahead of its official release. Check in after the break for all the locations, which include half a dozen in the US and one in Mexico.
iRobot, InTouch Health unveil RP-VITA telepresence robot, let doctors phone in bedside manner
In case you missed the memo, there's quite a bit more to iRobot than adorable autonomous vacuums -- these days the firm works on military projects, consumer electronics and tablet-controlled telepresence robots. Earlier this year, iRobot even retooled itself to build an emerging technologies group, announcing a partnership with InTouch Health to put its AVA telepresence technology to better use. Today the two companies are announcing the fruits of their labor -- the Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant, or RP-VITA. The project aims to combine the best of iRobot's AVA telepresence units with InTouch health's own bots, creating an easy to use system that allows physicians to care for patients remotely without stumbling over complicated technology. The RP-VITA features state-of-the-art mapping and obstacle detection and avoidance technology, a simple iPad user interface for control and interaction and the ability to interface with diagnostic devices and access electronic medical records. The remote rig will eventually be able to navigate to specified target destinations autonomously, though this feature is still being reviewed by the FDA for clearance. iRobot and InTouch are optimistic about the unit, but claim that the RP-VITA is only the beginning. "While this represents our first foray into the healthcare market, the RP-VITA represents a robust platform," said Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot, "we see many future opportunities in adjacent markets." The new telemedicine assistant is slated to make its first appearance at InTouch Health's 7th Annual Clinic Innovations Forum later this week. Check out the press release after the break for the full details.
InTouch Health's RP-7 enables distance education for doctors
Thankfully, doctors aren't actually be instructed en masse how to do their work by robotic teachers, but that's not to say robots aren't helping to facilitate the learning process. Recently, surgeons in Argentina were guided through a laparoscopic gastric sleeve procedure by a colleague some 5,400 miles away thanks to the InTouch Health RP-7 Remote Presence Robot. The five-foot, five-inch robot reportedly "displays the doctor's face on a 15-inch screen and is guided by a joystick from a computerized ControlStation, emulating an on-site experience." It's even able to provide high quality, real-time audio / video with "complete mobility around the operating room." Best of all, the patient in question was actually able to return home shortly after the procedure was complete, but heaven forbid one of these things ever turning on us humans and taking on a personality of its own.[Via Physorg]
