Senior Care
An increasing number of hospitals and facilities use robots to assist with patient care and treatment. Mobile robots assist with transport tasks or guide people to their destinations. One robot being used is a PARO robot, this is a therapeutic robot baby harp seal. These are used worldwide in the intent to have a calming effort on and elicit emotional responses in patients of hospitals and nursing homes. PARO has been found to reduce patient stress and improve their relaxation and motivation.
Exoskeletons are robotic devices that range from prosthetic body parts to full suits that help paralyzed people walk. They can be useful for correcting malformations or for rehabilitation after a brain or spinal cord injury by providing weak muscles with extra help they need to perform movements in order to begin the healing process.
Exoskeletons
Veebot systems have re-invented needle insertion with the aim of it being hands-off, more accurate and less painful. Most needle insertion procedures such as getting blood drawn or having an IV placed are performed without image guidance. Veebot have brought into place a technology that allows for needle insertion using image guidance and robots to eliminate the ‘guesswork’. Veebot identifies the best target vein nearly 85 percent of the time. The aim of this is to make the process of using needles an easier process for all doctors and patients involved.
Needle Insertion
Most exoskeletons work through a combination of user input and pre-set movements. One exoskeleton that is helping doctors in particular is the ReWalk, this is a wearable extension that is strapped to the body and provides hip and knee motion that enables individuals with severe spinal injuries to walk upright.
8 | MANE ENGINEERING & MANUFACTURING | JUNE 2019