Robots to the rescue in hospital isolation cases
A robot designed to inspect plastic pipes in nuclear power plants is now providing valuable assistance to hospital centres. Developed as part of the EU-funded El-Peacetolero project, the teleoperated mobile omnidirectional terrestrial manipulator robot is being tested for use in hospital isolation conditions where there is infectious or radiological risk. In the first trial conducted by El-Peacetolero project partner Universitat Jaume I and the Castelló Provincial Hospital Consortium in Spain, the robot was given a mobility test. This involved assessing how the robot navigated corridors and rooms and opened doors, as well as data acquisition for 3D reconstruction of the environment and reach with the manipulator arm. The robot has an AI-assisted sensor, and 2D and 3D LiDAR remote sensing systems mounted on the mobile head. It also has a manipulator arm to assist patients in the future. A ‘EurekAlert!’ news release provides more detail on the robot’s usefulness in a hospital environment: “The robot would be used to deliver food and medication to patients in isolation due to infectious pathologies or admitted to the Special Hospitalisation Unit, where people requiring metabolic therapy or gynaecological brachytherapy are treated, thus avoiding unnecessary exposure of healthcare staff to possible infectious or radiological risks.”
The case of radioactive cancer treatments
In the case of metabolic therapy, a patient is given radioactive drugs to stop energy from being produced in cancer cells, consequently preventing the cells from replicating and making them more sensitive to cancer treatments. The radioactive drugs are administered orally or intravenously. During this treatment, the patient is admitted to one of the consortium’s specially adapted rooms that meet the Spanish Nuclear Safety Council’s radiation protection standards. The patient then remains in isolation, not leaving or receiving any visitors, for the two to three days needed for the radiation levels to fall within legal limits. While in isolation, the patient receives continuous remote care from the centre’s specially trained medical and nursing staff. In gynaecological brachytherapy – a form of radiation treatment used to treat cancer of the cervix, uterus or vagina – a high dose of radiation is delivered with precision to the target tumour, minimising damage to nearby healthy tissues. The patient remains isolated in one of the rooms in the Special Hospitalisation Unit during irradiation, for about 10 minutes every hour. Treatment can range from one to four days. By delivering food and medication to such isolated patients, the robot will play a key role in preventing unnecessary radiological exposure to healthcare staff. The El-Peacetolero (Embedded Electronic solutions for Polymer Innovative Scanning Tools using Light Emitting devices for diagnostic Routines) project ends in February 2025. For more information, please see: El-Peacetolero project website
Keywords
El-Peacetolero, hospital, isolation, robot, patient, radiation, cancer
