MONEY MATTERS IN HEALTH & TECH : It’s high time we used robots in healthcare

Robots are now ushering the world into a new era. Although these changes are happening at a slow pace in Tanzania and the rest of Africa, things are happening.

We were used to seeing robots at work in manufacturing industries but the trend is now shifting towards use of robots in healthcare.

In 2014, a robot known as TRU-D SmartUVC was introduced in Monrovia, Liberia to help fight against the Ebola outbreak. This was used in disinfecting decontaminated rooms.

A few days ago, I received a call from a friend who couldn’t believe what they had seen on TV. A 70-year old man underwent cataract surgery performed by a robot in the UK. Yes, things are happening.

Most of the time, robots are designed to resemble humans or animals, though this is not necessarily always the case.

Robotics is a branch of engineering and computer science that deals with robots. Engineers are now designing robots for potential use in healthcare services.

There are a lot of billion-dollar projects world-wide being directed towards manufacturing useful healthcare robots.

But the use of robotics in healthcare services is still rare in Africa and in developing nations across the globe.

Since the world is rapidly modernizing, there are hopes of using them in the near future. In a few years to come, the use of robots might be widespread. Who knows?

Robot use is very much common in developed nations like the United States, Canada, China and the UK. This is because the robotics projects in those countries are well funded and developed in terms of infrastructure.

According to the Robotic Industries Association (RIA), healthcare robots have a great potential of transforming the fields of medicine across the globe since they are believed to provide medical technology for developers to come up with new innovations.

Robots have proved useful in many areas of hospital daily operations, ranging from simple tasks to performing very complex surgeries.

Robots have the potential of turning the present hospital operational structure into a robot oriented structure. This is because robots once designed properly can help reduce hospital operation costs extensively. They are believed to be precise and accurate.

Robots can perform surgeries that include gynaecological, ophthalmic, urological and minimally invasive procedures. A commonly known surgical robot is Da Vinci robot operating in United States.

This medical robot has successfully managed to perform a number of surgical operations in the US. Robots are also useful in physical rehabilitation. Medical robots aid in treating patients who are paralyzed due to either stroke or trauma.

Physiotherapists all over the world are increasingly using these medical robots and they have helped millions of people.

Mobile robots have the capability of transporting medications, patient files, mattresses, medical wastes and other medical supplies across the hospital premises.

These autonomous mobile robots may helpful in internal hospital logistics. These are few among dozens of roles robots can play in healthcare service. There are regulations guiding operation of these robots.

There are some criteria set by regulatory bodies for them to be adopted for use in healthcare. This includes ensuring that safety to patients and care givers is prioritized. This technology is very expensive. The applicability of robotics in healthcare is still doubtful all over the world. Professionals are against robotics in healthcare on the fact that medicine requires exceptional skills and flexibility of which these robots do not have.

It is obvious that acceptance of these robots in healthcare will damage the reputation of this noble profession.

However, introducing robots in African health systems could be the best alternative solution to the longstanding problem of shortage of healthcare workers.

The question is, can they really be absorbed in our current healthcare system?

In our healthcare settings, systems are still facing a number of challenges that can directly hinder their performance.

Imagine, a surgical robot to a hospital in rural setting with limited power sources and poor hospital infrastructures- will these robots deliver under this condition?

We need them, but we also need time to invest.