'Robot doctor' approved by FDA

New medical technology that has been labeled by some as a ‘robot doctor’ is to be added to the list of approved devices of the USA’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in a move that could spark a sea-change in international medical equipment.

Remote Presence Virtual + Independent Telemedicine Assistant (RP-VITA) is the product of collaborative development between iRobot and InTouch Health, and has been approved to be listed on the FDA’s Class II devices list.

Its inclusion on the list gives the machine clearance to be used in “active patient monitoring in high acuity environments where immediate clinical action may be required, such as in the ICU and emergency department, facilitating the rapid assessment and treatment of stroke and other time critical conditions.”

RP-VITA is capable of autonomously navigating its way around hospitals, accurately avoiding obstacles and people, and will be cloud connected to medical records systems, to ensure that doctors have a full bank of information at their disposal. The robots are intended to be an aid to medical staff, described as “the remote presence device component of a total acute care telemedicine solution”. They have been designed to be fully customisable, allowing doctors to switch and swap components depending on their particular needs.

http://www.kirkhamyoung.co.uk/news/article/robot-doctor-approved-by-fda-184979.html