3 Amazing Healthcare Smart Technologies
Robotic Nurse
Common causes of injury in nurses come from having to move or lift patients in bed or in an emergency after a fall. Many times there is not a strong enough nurse to lift the patients properly, such as during a night shift, which can lead to chronic back, neck or arm injury.
A full robot helper called RIBA (Robot for Interactive Body Assistance) with assisted hardware HAL (Hybrid Assistive Limb, not 2001’s HAL) can completely lift up, set down and move a patient into a bed or wheelchair. RIBA is built with very strong human-like arms and guidance methods using high-accuracy tactile sensors. HAL also developed a robotics device that allows a care worker to lift a patient on their own with more stability and strength.
Remote Patient Monitoring
Monitoring programs collect a wide range of health data from the point of care, like vital, weight, blood pressure, blood sugar, blood oxygen levels, heart rate, and electrocardiograms. This data gets transmitted to health professionals that have monitoring centers in their primary care facilities, hospitals or intensive care units, and skilled nursing facilities. Doctors, nurses, specialists, and other healthcare professionals monitor the patients remotely and act on the information received as part of their treatment plan. Monitoring programs aim to improve patient outcomes, access to care, and to make health care systems more cost effective.
Disinfecting Lightbulbs
Many times a patient dies or becomes more seriously ill after a routine operation or treatment because it is extremely hard to keep a hospital clean enough. Indigo-Clean developed a technology using visible light that continuously disinfects the environment and bolsters other infection prevention efforts.
- The 405nm emitted reflects off of walls and surfaces, penetrating harmful micro-organisms
- The light targets molecules called porphyrins that exist inside bacteria; when the light is absorbed the molecules produce Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) inside the cell
- ROS inactivates the bacteria, preventing it from re-populating the space
