FORT WORTH — In the hectic world of emergency medicine, a specialist isn't always handy, but one "doctor" is available 24/7.
He stands about 5 feet tall, with a flat-screen head and video cameras for his eyes and ears.
"Good morning ma'am," says the voice from the screen.
Plaza Medical Center in Fort Worth and 11 other HCA facilities are trying out remote presence robots.
The doc bot lets a physician go bedside even when he or she is far away.
"The beauty of this is I can actually lay eyes on the patient," said Dr. Greg Ward, a Plaza neurosurgeon. "Before I could look at scans from home or anywhere remotely, but I wasn't able to actually see the patient."
Dr. Ward says with the robot, he can virtually examine a patient. The bot has a special stethoscope which can let a physician hear a patient's heartbeat or arteries. Digital images can also be pulled up on-screen.
Another doctor or nurse is always in the room as the robot is in operation. The interface gives any consulting doctors a chance to be on the same page, especially when it comes to making crisis decisions.
"Just having the remote physician bedside is something that's reassuring for the patient," said emergency physician Dr. Arun Raghavan. "And it certainly helps me in the decision-making process. Again, looking at this from the team approach."
But the technology is only as good as the Internet connection.
Experts say remote presence could transform rural medicine, where there aren't as many specialists readily available. A connection through a doc bot could bring a world-class doctor bedside — no matter where the patient is.
The aim of this robotic telemedicine isn't to replace man with machine. But many believe robots like this one are the next frontier of medicine — allowing doctors to be in-touch, even when they can't be there in person.
E-mail jstjames@wfaa.com
