The Bari robot is a videoconferencing robot that is equipped with a couple of cameras to help doctors check on patients despite not being there physically at the hospital. In addition to the cameras, there is a screen and microphone to help the joystick-controlled robot keep in touch with the patient. It gives the patient a sense of relief as if the doctor is there in person, and could come in handy when the doctor wants to check out patients in the wee hours of the morning or whenever there are any complications that arise unexpectedly. The Bari is able to circle the bed while adjusting the position of its two cameras for a better viewing angle.

The Bari robot won’t be cheap to implement though, costing up to $150,000 for one of these. It does help in the patient recovery though, as studies have shown that 92 out of the 376 patients had shorter hospital stays with the help of additional robotic visits.

I wonder whether the Bari robot would mean doctors no longer have to go through patient relationship classes back in medical school, or will there by a new syllabus drawn up that requires the medical student to learn the various functions of the Bari robot so that he/she can effectively use the Bari to perform remote patient check ups? Whatever the answer is, it is interesting to see technology bridge the gap when it comes to patient care, although I forsee certain doctors groaning as this means there is now an avenue to continue working even when they’re not at the hospital. Kinda reminds me of 3G video calls which is a two-edged sword - you get suspicious wives or girlfriends calling you up to check up on just what you’re doing at the moment, while the wholesome family man gets to keep in touch with his family despite being separated by miles and miles of roads.

Source: Discovery