Healthcare Robots Research Articles

Significance and Application of Robotics in the Healthcare and Medical Field

Technologies have a great impact on the Healthcare and medical sectors as this helps the professionals to boost their productivity and efficiency to a great extent. Robotics has a great influence on the entire activity of the health care sector and this has the capability of changing the entire workflow. With the assistance of robotics and artificial intelligence HealthCare professionals upgrade their day to day operation and provide best patient care for the betterment and first recovery of the patient. In the majority of cases robots are eventually used to make the surgeries and the recovery of the patient more effective and impactful. On the other hand, this also has the pharmaceutical and other Healthcare systems to meet the demand of the market place with the help of enhanced productivity and efficiency. Despite the advantages there are a number of different challenges and disadvantages are also involved with the overall implication of robotics in the healthcare and medical field. The challenges which are associated with the application of robotics in healthcare have been discussed critically within the study. The process to mitigate issues and avail most significant assistance through robotics in the medical sector has also been discussed with the entire study. Keyword : Robotics, healthcare, productivity, efficiency

Utilization of Robotics for Healthcare: A Scoping Review

Robotics is a disruptive technology that has already revolutionized patient healthcare globally. This technology is presently helping to perform various essential tasks such as conducting operations via numerous specializations and managing the entire operating room. Robot surgery is, in reality, available worldwide for knee substitution, correction of the hernia, and colon resection. Surgical robots entered the operating theatres far before entering other medicine-related robotics applications and now facilitate better outcomes for a whole range of healthcare products. In the COVID-19 pandemic, some robots were used in hospitals to deliver medicines, screen, perform odd jobs, and maintain hygienic conditions. This paper provides an overview about robotics and its various applications useful for healthcare. Significant enhancement, quality services, and advancements in healthcare services are also discussed. Here, we have identified the role of robotics in healthcare as a technology that dramatically changes the healthcare field. An artificial intelligence robot can duplicate creativity via algorithms, and its programming too plays a crucial role. Hospitals can now save time and money by removing the need for physical chores for different jobs. It is helpful for surgical training, exoskeletons, intelligent prostheses and bionics, robotic nurses, treatment, medicines, logistics, telepresence, and cleaning services. Robotics technologies such as gesture control, machine view, voice recognition, and touch sensor technology are also available. The future is bright with lower installation and maintenance costs.

Functional Epoxy Elastomer Integrating Self-Healing Capability and Degradability for a Flexible Stretchable Strain Sensor.

With the rapid development of flexible electronics and the increasing deterioration of the natural environment, functional and environmentally friendly flexible strain sensors have become one of the frontier research hotspots. Here, we propose a novel strategy to synthesize a functional epoxy elastomer integrating self-healing capability and degradability for flexible stretchable strain sensors. A carboxyl-terminated epoxy prepolymer was first synthesized using carboxyl-terminated PEG (PEG-COOH), 2,2'-dithiodibenzoic acid (DTSA), and 1,4-butanediol diglycidyl ether (BDDE), and then crosslinked by epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) to yield an epoxy elastomer. The obtained elastomer exhibited not only high tensile stress (5.07 MPa), large stretchability (477%), and high healing efficiency (92.5%) but also superior degradability in alkaline aqueous solution. The elastomer-based stretchable strain sensor with microstructure showed high sensitivity (GF = 176.71) and was successfully applied for detecting human motions and recognizing objects with various shapes. Moreover, the healed sensor could restore stable sensing ability. The prepared functional epoxy elastomer is of great significance for the preparation of environmentally friendly and high-performance sensors and is promising for applications in the fields of healthcare monitoring, intelligent robots, and wearable electronics.

The Politics of User-Driven Innovation: On innovative users, do-able needs, and frugal robots

Users play an increasingly important role in European innovation policy. They are commonly seen as drivers of and active co-creators within innovation processes. However, user-driven innovation remains infused with a number of assumptions about users, technology, and “successful” innovation, which (partly) undermine a more democratic, open approach to innovation. In this contribution, I investigate the interplay between broader policy assumptions in the European discourse on user-driven innovation and its practical performance within an innovation project centring on healthcare robotics. Here, I argue that the politics of user-driven innovation harbours particular assumptions that, in effect, restrict the agency of users while also engendering conflict and contradictory outcomes. Hence, user-driven innovation is not simply about users driving innovation but rather about interfacing users and their concerns with (robotics) developers and their technology. For this, I propose an analytics of interfacing, which draws together literatures on the performative dynamics of participatory processes and more recent work on the political economy of participation. Here, I contend that it is not enough to investigate the construction and performance of publics; rather, it is additionally necessary to follow the manifold practices by which those publics are rendered available for certain technological solutions – and vice versa. Such an analytical approach opens up a fruitful avenue to critically enquire into the politics of participation – sitting in between innovation policy and practice.

Smart Healthcare Robotics: Opportunities and Challenges

Smart Healthcare Robotics: Opportunities and Challenges

Robots and Robotics in Nursing.

Technological advancements have led to the use of robots as prospective partners to complement understaffing and deliver effective care to patients. This article discusses relevant concepts on robots from the perspective of nursing theories and robotics in nursing and examines the distinctions between human beings and healthcare robots as partners and robot development examples and challenges. Robotics in nursing is an interdisciplinary discipline that studies methodologies, technologies, and ethics for developing robots that support and collaborate with physicians, nurses, and other healthcare workers in practice. Robotics in nursing is geared toward learning the knowledge of robots for better nursing care, and for this purpose, it is also to propose the necessary robots and develop them in collaboration with engineers. Two points were highlighted regarding the use of robots in health care practice: issues of replacing humans because of human resource understaffing and concerns about robot capabilities to engage in nursing practice grounded in caring science. This article stresses that technology and artificial intelligence are useful and practical for patients. However, further research is required that considers what robotics in nursing means and the use of robotics in nursing.

Roadmap on bio-derived materials for wearable triboelectric devices

To establish sustainable pathways in a wide range of unattended mobile electronics and systems, such as wearable healthcare devices and robots, it is useful to develop unique electronic devices capable of harvesting and storing their operational power from the working environment. Triboelectric Nanogenerator (TENG) is groundbreaking energy and sensor technology that efficiently converts wasted mechanical energy into electricity. However, most TENG prototypes were comprised of non-biodegradable or biocompatible materials, which severely restricts the potential of TENG in wearable and implantable applications. This article discusses the latest advances in human-integrated technology that employ bio-derived wearable triboelectric sensors. The triboelectric and electrode materials employed in these bio-derived TENG devices will be discussed. New discoveries in bio-derived wearable triboelectric sensors for ubiquitous human applications, such as tactile and motion sensing, vital signs monitoring and healthcare, intelligent communications, and interaction, and chemical sensing, will also be discussed. Finally, we will discuss the opportunities and challenges inherent in developing wearable, human-integrated triboelectric sensors based on bio-derived natural materials.

A Review of Artificial Intelligence and Robotics in Transformed Health Ecosystems.

Health care is shifting toward become proactive according to the concept of P5 medicine–a predictive, personalized, preventive, participatory and precision discipline. This patient-centered care heavily leverages the latest technologies of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics that support diagnosis, decision making and treatment. In this paper, we present the role of AI and robotic systems in this evolution, including example use cases. We categorize systems along multiple dimensions such as the type of system, the degree of autonomy, the care setting where the systems are applied, and the application area. These technologies have already achieved notable results in the prediction of sepsis or cardiovascular risk, the monitoring of vital parameters in intensive care units, or in the form of home care robots. Still, while much research is conducted around AI and robotics in health care, adoption in real world care settings is still limited. To remove adoption barriers, we need to address issues such as safety, security, privacy and ethical principles; detect and eliminate bias that could result in harmful or unfair clinical decisions; and build trust in and societal acceptance of AI.

Flexible Pressure Sensor With Wide Linear Sensing Range for Human–Machine Interaction

Flexible pressure sensors hold great potential for applications in human–machine interaction and flexible robotics, but the balance of their sensitivity and sensing range remains a challenge. Here, we proposed a flexible piezoresistive pressure sensor based on poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrene sulfonic acid) (PEDOT: PSS) and cross interlocked nylon fabrics. The sensor exhibited a wide sensing range (~1.5 mPa), a low detection limit (6 Pa), a fast response time (less than 40 ms), and an excellent cycling stability (at least 16 000 cycles without any decay). The excellent performance is attributed to the fact that the cross interlocked structure can form a mechanically stable and three-dimensional (3D) sensitive conductive network which allowed a contact area of the pressure sensor to vary continuously, resulting in an extremely large pressure sensing range. In addition, the sensor array system was successfully fabricated and integrated with a rank scanning circuit to achieve mapping and identification of spatial pressure distribution. Finally, we have built and demonstrated a sensing system capable of wireless real-time gesture interaction with a robot. These results provide a new direction for the fabrication of high-performance sensors with tremendous applications for healthcare, wearable electronics, electronic skin, and smart robots.

Blokzincir Destekli Mobil Robotların Sağlık Hizmetinde Uygulanması: Kullanım Örnekleri, Araştırma Zorlukları ve Gelecek Trendler

Using service robots in healthcare is gaining importance in case of emergent situations like pandemics where human labour is considered risky. Multi robot systems of mobile robots have the potential to perform simple but vital tasks in healthcare. However, centralized control with a server computer of these systems carry the risks of single point of failure and ineffective operation of robots, thus decentralized control with blockchain integration offers a better solution. We mention research challenges regarding blockchain powered multi robot systems of mobile robots from use case, blockchain technology and its integration into current computing systems used in medical centers aspects. Then we propose a method for decentralized management and task distribution in a multi robot system by using Hyperledger Fabric as a permissioned blockchain platform and give common use case scenarios. In this system, tasks are assigned to robots depending on the selection of nearest available robots to the task target. Each robot runs the smart contract containing the task assignment method, so that data traffic for the task assignment process is distributed among the network, instead of stacking up on a single line as in a centralized system. Future research issues and directions for future works are also stated as a conclusion.

Opportunities for social robots in the stuttering clinic: A review and proposed scenarios

AbstractThe inclusion of technologies such as telepractice, and virtual reality in the field of communication disorders has transformed the approach to providing healthcare. This research article proposes the employment of similar advanced technology – social robots, by providing a context and scenarios for potential implementation of social robots as supplements to stuttering intervention. The use of social robots has shown potential benefits for all the age group in the field of healthcare. However, such robots have not yet been leveraged to aid people with stuttering. We offer eight scenarios involving social robots that can be adapted for stuttering intervention with children and adults. The scenarios in this article were designed by human–robot interaction (HRI) and stuttering researchers and revised according to feedback from speech-language pathologists (SLPs). The scenarios specify extensive details that are amenable to clinical research. A general overview of stuttering, technologies used in stuttering therapy, and social robots in health care is provided as context for treatment scenarios supported by social robots. We propose that existing stuttering interventions can be enhanced by placing state-of-the-art social robots as tools in the hands of practitioners, caregivers, and clinical scientists.

Advances in robotics for healthcare

Advances in robotics for healthcare

IMPACT OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE IN HEALTH SECTOR

The emergence of artificial intelligence (AI) has provided many opportunities for improvements in the healthcare. Artificial Intelligence (AI), has a huge role and growing in world-wide in the past few years ago. Early expectations were for AI to change the role of physicians, recruitment and education. This involves major claims and developments, principal contributions to healthcare and major criticisms of using AI and robots in healthcare. Neural networks and Deep learning are complex techniques of machine learning. Artificial neural networks vaguely simulate how neurons in the brain would process signals. The 1980s and 1990s were characterized by a surge of interest in AI, especially the application of neural networks, fuzzy set theory and Bayesian networks. Also, AI has the capable to detect, diagnostic and cure many of wide range diseases.

Applications of Robotics in Healthcare

This paper investigates the expanding relevance of robotics in personal health care and associated industries, with an emphasis on suggesting critical research strategies for robotics throughout healthcare. The major purpose of the robot is to decrease human-to- human contact in the hospital while also providing cleanliness, hygiene, and support. This research intends to emphasize the importance of simple healthcare robotics and link their applications to enhance the quality, health, and wellbeing, and reduce medical errors while also providing patients with preventive and tailored therapy. Encourage them to inquire about long-term care and advertise its availability. For those who need it. "I utilize the robot to assist patients that have been informed that conventional surgery is out of the question." DANIEL EUN, M.D. Healthcare robotics is a new business that is expected to grow in response to population trends, projected personnel shortages, and desires to improve the well-being of the old and handicapped, hence the need for even relatively high treatments, such as high-precision treatment. All of these characteristics promote innovation in healthcare robots. Several robotics research groups and networks are already working on healthcare applications. Key Words: Healthcare, Robots, Patients, Medical Professionals.

Security framework to healthcare robots for secure sharing of healthcare data from cloud.

Healthcare robots have the potential to assist medical practitioners in accurately performing tasks such as nursing, diagnosing, and performing critical surgeries. Limited processing, battery power, and storage capacity may reduce the robot's working efficiency. Using cloud services (massive storage, fast processing, and network) overcome the above-mentioned issues. However, sharing healthcare data from the cloud to healthcare robots raises security concerns. Sharing sensitive healthcare data, from the cloud to healthcare robots, can lead to multiple internal and external attacks that are an important research issue. To avoid these types of attacks, data must be encrypted before it is stored in the cloud, assigned roles using access controls, and maintains the integrity of the data. In this paper, the robotics healthcare data is encrypted using an Elliptic Curve Cryptography (ECC)-based mechanism for secure sharing, and Hash-based Message Authentication Code-SHA 1 (HMAC-SHA1) is used for maintaining the integrity of the sensitive data. The results show that the proposed methodology gives better results with less security overhead. Furthermore, the proposed framework can be applied practically in a healthcare environment with low computational power.

The perspectives of older adults with mild cognitive impairment and their caregivers on the use of socially assistive robots in healthcare: exploring factors that influence attitude in a pre-implementation stage

Background Due to increasing age and an increasing prevalence rate of neurocognitive disorders such as Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and dementia, independent living may become challenging. The use of socially assistive robots (SARs) is one solution that can enable older adults with cognitive impairment to remain independent. However, at present, there is a lack of knowledge about the attitudes of older adults with MCI and their caregivers towards SARs. Methods This study relies on a constructivist grounded theory approach. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to gain a deeper insight into attitudes of two different stakeholder groups; older adults with MCI and their (in)formal caregivers. Results Forty individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with older adults with MCI (N = 30) and (in)formal caregivers (N = 10). Data revealed different perspectives on SARs in healthcare for the involved stakeholders. Two main topics could be derived: (1) perspectives on robot assistance, discussing different viewpoints on the potential value of robots as helpers, and (2) perspectives on implementation, revealing different factors that could affect implementation. Both topics may explain a positive, impartial or negative attitude towards SARs. Conclusions This study identified different factors that should be taken into account when implementing a SAR in the home environment of older adults. Despite the fact that the benefits of SARs are often recognized, many older participants currently seem not ready yet to commit to the use of a SAR. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION This study explores the attitudes towards a SAR, developed to stimulate and support older adults with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) on a physical, cognitive and social level. The results give a deeper insight into different factors contributing to a (non-) successful implementation of SARs in the home environment of older adults with MCI.

Multifunctional Tactile Feedbacks Towards Compliant Robot Manipulations via 3D-Shaped Electronic Skin

Electronic skin (e-skin) has attracted considerable interests to endow robots the abundant perception abilities like human skin. However, multifunctional tactile feedbacks and poor wearability hinder the practical application towards compliant robot manipulations and friendly human-robot interaction (HRI). Here, a 3D-shaped e-skin integrated with hierarchically distributed flexible pressure, proximity, humidity sensors, and digital conversion circuits has been developed via the parting casting method. It can perfectly cover the non-developable and time-dynamic curved surface of a bionic hand and shows excellent wearability. The sensing data are collected by multichannel acquisition circuits and then sent to processing center to establish the mapping relations between multiple stimuli and movements of the bionic hand and arm. The multifunctional tactile feedbacks have been successfully demonstrated, which include non-contact obstacle avoidance, grasping force control, slip detection, and voice feedback. The e-skin shows great potential in the fields of HRI, artificial limbs, health care robots, and service robots.

Exploring home health-care robots adoption in Malaysia: extending the UTAUT model

PurposeThis study aims to examine the possible factors affecting Malaysians’ intention to adopt new technology such as home health-care robots (HHRs) based on the extended unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. The variable price, awareness and alternative attractiveness were added since HHRs is a new technology in Malaysia.Design/methodology/approachThis study collected the self-administered questionnaire from 316 respondents who are currently taking care of elderly or disabled people at home. The UTAUT variables, price and awareness were the predictors, and the intention to adopt HHRs was the independent variable, with alternative attractiveness as the moderator. The partial least squares structural equation modeling was used for analysis of the measurement model and the structural model of this study.FindingsThe results show that performance expectancy, social influence, facilitating conditions, price and awareness significantly and positively affect Malaysians’ intention to adopt HHRs. Alternative attractiveness moderates the relationship between price and intention to adopt HHRs.Research limitations/implicationsThe findings provide insights to marketers, managers and policymakers in identifying the right strategies to promote HHRs and thus, solving the problem of scarcity in caretakers for elderly and disabled people.Originality/valueThis study adds value to the current literature by integrating price and awareness constructs with the UTAUT model. This study also examines the moderating effect of alternative attractiveness on the intention to adopt HHRs, which is still limited but significant for developing nations.

Social Robot Interventions in Mental Health Care and Their Outcomes, Barriers, and Facilitators: Scoping Review.

BackgroundThe use of social robots as innovative therapeutic tools has been increasingly explored in recent years in an effort to address the growing need for alternative intervention modalities in mental health care.ObjectiveThe aim of this scoping review was to identify and describe social robot interventions in mental health facilities and to highlight their outcomes as well as the barriers and facilitators to their implementation.MethodsA scoping review of the literature published since 2015 was conducted using the Arksey and O’Malley’s framework. The MEDLINE, Embase, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, and PsycINFO databases were searched, and 2239 papers were retrieved. The papers included were primary empirical studies published in peer-reviewed literature. Eligible studies were set in mental health facilities and they included participants with a known mental health disorder. The methodological quality of the included papers was also assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.ResultsA total of 30 papers met the eligibility criteria for this review. Studies involved participants with dementia, cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, depression, autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and an intellectual disability. The outcomes studied included engagement, social interaction, emotional state, agitation, behavior, and quality of life.ConclusionsThe methodological weaknesses of the studies conducted this far and the lack of diversity in the conditions studied limit the generalizability of the results. However, despite the presence of certain barriers to their implementation (eg, technical problems, unsuitable environment, staff resistance), social robot interventions generally show positive effects on patients with mental health disorders. Studies of stronger methodological quality are needed to further understand the benefits and the place of social robots in mental health care.

Ethical Guidelines for the Development of AI- Supported Healthcare Robots - with focus on the Patient Transfer Rehabilitation Robot

Ethical Guidelines for the Development of AI- Supported Healthcare Robots - with focus on the Patient Transfer Rehabilitation Robot