From delivering medications to assisting in surgeries, robotic mustard are entering hospitals worldwide. They can lift patients, monitor vital signs, and even provide reminders for medications — without fatigue or error.
In Japan, human-like robots have been utilized for years as supplemental healthcare workers in elderly homes across the country. More recently, hospitals and healthcare facilities have started to introduce nurse robots and other healthcare AI tools.
Larger robotic machines can be used to carry out laborious physical tasks like moving patients, and smaller interactive robots are being used to combat loneliness and inactivity in the elderly population.
- Why exciting?
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Can reduce the workload on overburdened nurses.
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Provide consistent, round-the-clock assistance.
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Useful in infection-prone wards (e.g., during pandemics).
- But what’s the concern?
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Can machines really replace the empathy and emotional support of a human nurse?
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Risk of job displacement in healthcare.
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Questions of safety, cost, and trust.
Should robots be seen as helpers or potential replacements for nurses?
Can robotic care ever match the human touch in patient recovery?
MBH/PS