the last few weeks, and the feedback has been positive. According to the media statement of TK Anil Kumar, the state government’s principal secretary for health and family welfare, the initiative was beneficial. He said, “Healthcare staff find them useful. We may not be able to deploy robots in all district hospitals, but they will get PTZ (pan, tilt, zoom) cameras soon.”
The Bangalore municipal corporation’s (BBMP) special commissioner, Dr KV Trilok Chandra, indicated that ICUs were maintained in a sterile atmosphere with limited entry. He explained how the robots operated. He said, “Since beds are fixed, the robot can be programmed to go on a predetermined path every few hours. It provides two-way communication and relays audio and videos remotely to the physician.”
A Bangalore-based startup, Invento Robotics, has developed robots that answer patients’ questions, manage video consultations with physicians, and sanitize intensive care units. According to Balaji Viswanathan, CEO of Invento Robotics, the robots, called Mitras, can assist patients in collecting readings, remind them about prescriptions, and also travel around the hospital, allowing patients to connect with physicians and family members.
Meenakshi Mission Hospital & Research Centre in Madurai is one other organization that has effectively implemented robot services at hospital premises, having bought 16 Teladoc Health Vita robots. They have assisted in the screening of almost 40,000 patients thus far. During a media interview this week, Balaji spoke of the benefits and functions of these robots. He said, “With remote monitoring, diagnosis and treatment of patients, we managed to prevent thousands of potential cases of cross-infection which could have occurred with face-to-face interaction between patients and doctors”.
