A group of researchers from MIT have developed a robot that can assist in a hospital's labor room. One day, every maternity ward might soon have robot helping moms give birth. As a parent, will you be okay with this advancement?
MIT scientists have been figuring out whether it is viable for robots to become resource nurses at hospitals. As outlined in their two-year study, they wanted to see if robots can do more than just dispense medications, which is already taking place at many hospitals. Can robots be trusted and relied upon to actually assist and care for patients, such as mothers during a labor and delivery?
MIT professor Julie Shah stated that a nurses' job is tough, especially with all the decisions one has to make, per Pop Sugar. But perhaps having a robot might prove to be a big help, so they set out to try this by providing a Nao robot at Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.
The Nao robot keep track of the nurse's schedules and activities and also took account of the complex tasks that are demanded by patients. The robot nurse or resource nurse was also coordinating with 10 different nurses and 20 patients located in different rooms. It had to understand and figure out the decision-making process of the hospital staff as well.
In one instance, the robot helped make recommendations as to which nurses were available to help in a cesarean section operation and provided the pros and cons of the situation, per Daily Mail. The MIT researchers found out that in at least 90 percent of the instances, the human nurses and doctors took the suggestions of the robot nurse.
This implies the vital part artificial intelligence can bring to hospital service in the future. Shah notes that for further studies, they are expanding their research to labor units in other hospitals, per CNN Money. Watch the video of the Nao robot working with a labor room nurse below.
Moms, would you trust your life and your baby's life at the maternity ward on robots? Share your thoughts in the comments section!
