Buddy bots help lung patients
Machines monitor breathlessness and medicine use
Robots can help Kiwis to manage a nasty lung disease. In the latest trial of healthcare robots, researchers observed how cute iRobi bots reminded patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) to take their medication and exercise.
The study, published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research, aimed to investigate if machines help patients rehabilitate at home — something that had potential to boost quality of life and slash hospital readmission.
COPD-related trips to hospital cost an average $4800 each.
While the robots didn’t have a big impact in bringing down admissions among the 25 patients assigned them, the related costs were lower than for a further 29 patients who received standard care.
“The research is helpful as it suggests that a homecare robot can improve adherence to medication and increase exercise,” said lead author Associate Professor Elizabeth Broadbent of the University of Auckland School of Medicine.
“But further research is needed with a larger sample size to further investigate effects on hospitalisations after improvements to the robots. The robots could be especially useful for patients struggling to take their medication.”
The four-month trial involved iRobis helping patients living in relatively isolated rural areas, living alone or with a spouse, and who left their homes fewer than four times a week.
The machines were programmed to measure heart rates, breathlessness and quality of life on a weekly basis.
They reminded patients when to take medication and inhalers and recorded patient adherence several times a day; reminded patients to do their rehabilitation exercises, and displayed videos of a patient performing these at least twice weekly. On top of that, they screened information about COPD, allowed the patients to use an “I am feeling unwell” function on demand, offered Wi-Fi-linked “smartinhalers” to monitor inhaler use and showed them their health trends over time.
All the while, specialist physiotherapists closely watched the data.
The robots’ patients turned out to be much more consistent in taking their long-acting inhalers and exercising than the control group.
Most of those patients were happy to have them there helping — and the robots were also a hit with children who visited.
The patients found the robots good company, and many became so close to their companions that they named them.
But that wasn’t always the case — three participants didn’t find the robots of any use and sent them back, while another three felt un-nerved about having them in their homes.
The study, funded by the Health Research Council and the National Health Committee, followed previous trials in Gore and Auckland where healthcare bots helped elderly patients, checking their blood pressure and heart rate, and monitoring for falls.