The robot will now see you… AI could take the burden off nurses by handling patients’ queries and simple tasks
- A successful trial with the robots took place in a hospital in Paris
- It revealed that AI ‘could become an essential part of patient care’
AI robots could soon take some of the burden off exhausted nurses by answering patients’ questions and completing simple tasks.
After a successful hospital trial, it turned out that the androids could ‘smoothly’ answer questions about the length of time until the doctor would be free and other topics.
The machines could also ‘general chat’ with patients, offering quizzes, riddles and even calming breathing exercises. Crucially, they were able to track conversations involving multiple nurses and patients simultaneously.
The UK National Robortarium β based at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh β played a crucial role in the EU-funded Β£7 million ‘Socially Assistive Robots in Gerontological Healthcare’ project.
A trial involving elderly patients at a hospital in Paris aimed to test whether the robots could “help patients, relieve their anxiety and relieve pressure on nursing staff.”
Scientists suggested the robots could be crucial in ‘increasing productivity’ on ‘simple but repetitive tasks’ in healthcare, including the NHS (Stock Image)
AI robots could soon take some of the burden off exhausted nurses by answering patients’ questions and completing simple tasks (Stock Image)
Scientists suggested the robots could be crucial in ‘increasing productivity’ on ‘simple but repetitive tasks’ in healthcare, including the NHS. They further indicated that they could lower the risk of infection transmission by reducing potential physical contact between doctors and patients.
So-called ‘social robots’ are increasingly being introduced into public spaces, using the same technology as chatbots to have fluid, human-like conversations with visitors.
Oliver Lemon, professor of AI and co-leader at the National Robotarium, said the results marked an “important milestone” in bringing social robots to hospitals.
βThe prospect of robots working seamlessly with hospital staff to improve patient experience is now moving closer to reality.
“Promising initial tests at Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris have demonstrated our robot’s ability to speak effectively to patients and their companions at the same time.”
According to him, the machines can perform ‘routine tasks’ such as giving directions and general information, as well as answer ‘repetitive questions’ such as opening times and ‘how long do I have to wait?’.
They can also “help with anxiety and provide entertainment,” with calming exercises and playing games with patients, he said.
The results suggested that the robots “could become an essential part of patient care in hospitals in the future,” said Professor Anne-Sophie Rigaud, head of department at Assistance Publique Hopitaux de Paris.
The UK Secretary of State for Scotland, Malcolm Offord, said: ‘The first trials of helper robots successfully demonstrate the great potential that such advanced technology has to provide vital support to healthcare workers, improve patient care and prevent the spread of infections and diseases ‘
The UK Secretary of State for Scotland, Malcolm Offord, said: ‘The first trials of helper robots successfully demonstrate the great potential that such advanced technology has to provide vital support to healthcare workers, improve patient care and prevent the spread of infections and diseases .
‘The UK Government has invested Β£21 million in the National Robotarium to promote world-leading research and support high-quality jobs, investment and growth, as part of our more than Β£2.9 billion investment to level up across Scotland. ‘