Students of IES College of Engineering, Chittilappily, have developed a robot which can assist doctors and medical staff in patient care.
The robotic nurse, Azimo Altra Robo, developed by a team of eight second year Electrical and Electronics Engineering students, can minimize the contact with the patients, which will reduce risk of medical professionals at the time of pandemics like COVID-19. It can be remotely controlled by the doctor or an operator.
The robot in hospitals helps to reduce human contact with patients having contagious diseases. It can perform simple tasks like taking vital signs such as heartbeat, blood pressure and Electro Cardio Graph (ECG) and report them to the physician concerned. So the doctor can keep a real-time tab on the patient. The doctor can also have a video session with the patient concerning any doubts, explained the students.
The robot can deliver medicines too. Thus it makes medical procedures safer and less costly for patients. Such robots can be used at the time of emergency scenario, when there is a dire need of efficient nurses in the field. It has a self-dispensing sanitizer, they added.
The students – Sreejesh Raveendran, Arjun Nandakumar, K.V. Fazil, Akhil Johny, Mohammed Althaf, Mohammed Iqbal, Belgin Benny, and A.G. Abijith – planned the robot as part of their final-year project. But considering the pandemic emergency situation, they developed it and gave it to the Government Medical College Hospital, Thrissur.
The robot may also be used in other fields like the chemical industry to minimize the human contact with toxic chemicals and hazardous materials.
The AZIMA Altra Robo was developed at a cost of ₹ 60,000 with the support of college authorities. The students have dedicated their invention to Lini Puthussery, the ‘hero’ nurse who sacrificed her life during the Nipah prevention mission. It was handed over to the Medical College Principal, M.A. Andrews.
