Rural robots
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| Eliza the robot |
University of Queensland telemedicine researchers are using robots to conquer the tyranny of distance and improve the delivery of specialist health care to the bush.
Three new robots are busy helping sick children in the Emerald, Gympie and Mount Isa regions. The robots were created by the University’s Centre for Online Health, a world leader in telemedicine research.
The wireless robots are mobile units which can be wheeled near to the bedside of sick children allowing specialists based in Brisbane to view the child and consult with the family and local clinicians – hundreds of kilometres away – via videoconference. The consultations provide regional hospitals with access to paediatric specialists, often reducing the need for families to travel to the city for specialist care.
During a videoconference, a specialist appears on the television screen of the robot and, with support from local staff, assists with decisions related to diagnosis and treatment planning. Brisbane-based specialists attend the telemedicine studios at the Centre for Online Health where high-quality videoconference cameras and microphones ensure all parties can communicate easily.
Eliza (Mt Isa), Emma (Emerald) and Gypsie (Gympie) were the first of four robots to be commissioned over the next three years, thanks to a $335,000 grant provided by mining company, Xstrata (Community Partnership Program), through the Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation.
The robot project is an extension of the telepaediatric research programme led by the Centre for Online Health, in collaboration with the Royal Children’s Hospital in Brisbane. Since the telepaediatric service began in November 2000, more than 5000 consultations have been held with children living throughout Queensland. In addition to general paediatrics, a broad range of paediatric sub-specialist services are offered including post-acute burns care, cardiology, diabetes, neurology, orthopaedics, psychiatry and surgery.
An earlier model robot, known as Roy, is already a successful addition to the children’s ward at the Gladstone District Hospital, in Central Queensland. The Xstrata funding will support the development of the robots which will be deployed in selected central and north Queensland hospitals, as well as employment of a Senior Research Officer at the Centre.
Senior Research Fellow, Dr Anthony Smith, said the new robots would enable the Centre to build on the successful 2004 Gladstone trial. “This funding gives our research team an opportunity to investigate how this new service delivery method may be expanded to other Queensland regional hospitals. In doing so, we will be particularly interested in assessing both clinical and cost-effectiveness, and the potential for providing professional support and educational opportunities to clinicians in isolated areas, such as Mt Isa, Gympie and Emerald,” he said.
- FUNDING: Royal Children’s Hospital Foundation; Xstrata (Community Partnership Program); and Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing (Medical Specialist Outreach and Assistance Programme)
- RESEARCHERS: Dr Anthony C Smith; Professor Richard Wootton; and Nigel Armfield
- EMAIL: a.smith@coh.uq.edu.au; r_wootton@pobox.com; N.R.Armfield@uq.edu.au
- WEB: www.uq.edu.au/coh
Near yet far ... Brisbane-based specialist (onscreen)
advising physiotherapists in Mt Isa
