For a machine that looks like a cross between a vacuum cleaner and a metal-clad space alien, RP6, the UK's first robot doctor, has a gentle bedside manner. But then it is fitted with an image of the doctor on its "face," in this case Parv Sains, a surgical specialist at St. Mary's Hospital, London.
The Remote Presence 6 -- nicknamed "Sister Mary" -- is one of two robot medics performing ward rounds in a telemedicine trial at St. Mary's.
Gliding from bed to bed, the robot does not physically examine people, but is fitted with a video screen that allows patients to communicate, face-to-virtual face with the doctor who performed their surgery or specialists anywhere in the world.
The doctor controls the robot with a joystick. Cameras allow them to see the patient and ask questions.
"Our robots would never replace all doctors on ward rounds, but they are a communication tool which allows a doctor to have direct contact with their patient," Sains said.
"If we look at the current strains on the [UK health service], many senior doctors with specialist skills and knowledge are required to be in several places at once. This allows them to log on, see the patient and make a decision," he said.
The trial will test how patients respond to the ?50,000 (US$92,000) robots. If all goes well, they could be deployed in the accident and emergency department to assess urgent cases.
"It's all a bit Star Trek, but if you look at how robots are used by the military and industry there's no reason why the [UK health service] can't move in that direction," Sains said.
Tara Fairall, 28, who is recovering from a gall bladder operation, is one of a few patients "examined" by the robot.
"It's weird at first, but you get used to it because it's like talking to a doctor. The doctors can't get down quickly enough when you bleep them sometimes, so at least this way you get to talk to someone," she said.
Sains said: "If a specialist is at a conference in California but their medical opinion is needed for a St. Mary's patient or to deliver a lecture to junior doctors, the RP6 robot provides an instant and global link. People have asked why we couldn't just use a webcam mounted on a trolley but then someone would have to push it around and focus the camera. We don't want it bumping into patients."
Quicker decisions about when to discharge people after operations would reduce bed blocking, Sains said.
The technology could also give smaller district hospitals without in-house expertise faster access to specialist advice.
Not everyone was impressed.
"I'm not remotely familiar with technology and I don't think I'd like it at all," said one elderly woman in the ward. "I think I'd come to the end of everything if I was sent a robot. I mean, where are all the doctors?"
The robots are used at three hospitals in the US, but this is the first trial in the UK.
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