Future Healthcare “Nurse, please Unleash Rover and Fire up the Robot”

Quaint thought perhaps, or a faith based leap, too far?  Neither.  The above simply confirms what is going on now on both sides of the pond.  In fact, it’s Angus the Spaniel (not Rover) who is fully trained as a hospital service dog in Canada.  He is highly skilled in searching out C Diff infection in hospital wards, complete with his hospital ID badge.  Angus builds on an idea previously demonstrated in Holland and he now works in patient free areas.  It’s a large scale problem (with 64% of C Diff, acquired in hospital due to cross infection).  Anything done to reduce that is a major step forward.

Another leap into the future that’s taking root here is the sensitive robot – not some abstract wish, but one being deployed in care homes around Britain and Japan.  Please give it up and shake the mechanical arm of Pepper the robot.  Initially engaged as a receptionist in Belgian Hospitals, Pepper has since gained promotion to more complex duties such as learning cultural sensitivity and awareness.  Middlesex University have teamed up with a Japanese artificial intelligence company to build human nuance into a previously ‘cold creature’.  Imagine combining the two, a robotic dog with an artificial intelligence nose – then we’d have more time to walk our real life Rover’s – so everyone wins.