News: Robot nurses ready for wards 'in three years'

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/

Robot nurses could be bustling around hospital wards in as little as three years.

The mechanised "angels" being developed by EU-funded scientists, will perform basic tasks such as mopping up spillages, taking messages, and guiding visitors to hospital beds.

They could also distribute medicines and even monitor the temperature of patients remotely with laser thermometers.

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He told The Engineer magazine: "The idea is not only to have mobile robots but also a full system of integrated information terminals and guide lights, so the hospital is full of interaction and intelligence.

"Operating as a completely decentralised network means that the robots can co-ordinate things between themselves, such as deciding which one would be best equipped to deal with a spillage or to transport medicine."

He said the robots could provide a valuable service guiding people around the hospital. A visitor would state the name of a patient at an information terminal and then follow a robot to the correct bedside.

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