Vaguely resembling a human torso, in a Star Wars R2D2 sort of way, the robot sports a computer screen for a head, a video camera for eyes and a speaker for a mouth. It walks, in a manner of speaking, on three balls, talks, and most importantly, listens. "That's because the robot is directly linked to a real doctor who uses the robot as it ears, mouth and eyes," says Louis Kavoussi, M.D., Hopkins professor of urology and a pioneer in robotic surgery. "And patients love it. I was very surprised how much our patients enjoy remote video interactions via the robot.

According to Kavoussi, the positive response to the robot supports the results of earlier studies done at Hopkins that found patients like using teleconferencing technology, in addition to traditional bedside visits, to communicate with their physicians. "Any technology that facilitates communications between patient and physician is welcome by both," he says.

Billed as the world's first remote-presence robot by its manufacturer, InTouch Health Inc, the robotic system works something like an ultrarealistic video game, complete with a joystick for moving it about. Looking at a computer terminal, the doctor directing the robot sees what the robot sees and hears what the robot hears. At the other end, patients can see and talk to the doctor's face displayed on a flat screen that sits on the robot's "shoulders." All of this is connected to the Internet via broadband and a wireless network. "Many health care facilities and long-term care communities lack the resources to maintain a staff of all the medial specialists needed," says Kavoussi. "The robot has the potential to fill this vacuum by enabling remote medical experts to 'virtually' consult with caregivers, patients, resident
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Contact: Gary Stephenson
gstephenson@jhmi.edu
410-955-5384
Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions
5-Aug-2003