Design and Development of Medical Care Supporting Robot

Abstract

We have developed “Terapio”, a next-generation robot that replaces the conventional medical cart used by healthcare staff during their rounds at the medical front. Terapio assists medical staff in delivering resources and recording round information with its robotic control abilities. An omnidirectional mobile mechanism and a human tracking control system to follow a specified medical professional realize smooth transfer movement from a nurses station to wards. Data on rounds is automatically recorded by a CCD camera and a voice recorder. When the robot is connected via a cable to a medical data server, the robot transmits patients' data to the server and receives new patients' information. The use of robots to support medical care allows humans to concentrate on those tasks requiring knowledge, skill, and experience, is then expected to contribute to the enhancement of the quality of healthcare services.