Robots Carry Weight — and Blood Components — at Transfusion Centers
Tug makes his way across the halls of the University of California-San Francisco Hospital easily, transporting blood for transfusions. He quickly goes up and down elevators and through doorways with his products safely guarded. When he reaches his destination, he drops off the contents and heads back to the laboratory to wait for his next assignment.
Even though he has been working at the center for a year-and-a-half, Tug does not exactly fit in with his colleagues. He doesn’t grab lunch with them or discuss a difficult patient case. You see, Tug is not your traditional blood banking employee. For one, he is not exactly a person. He is actually a member of the robot species.
Human or not, Tug has been a huge asset to the San Francisco blood bank, said Delene Johnson, SBB, its transfusion service supervisor. Tug is efficient, effective and knows his way around — which makes sense, considering he comes installed with a preprogrammed computerized map as well as a camera to “see” his path and any obstacles along the way. “The robot fills in the gaps at our center because we have a very busy service and don’t have pneumatic tubes to all locations” Johnson said. “It takes the burden off our staff, especially at night and on the weekends, when there are not as many employees here.”
In the digital age in which we live, robots are becoming more commonplace in the health care sector. Their advantages are numerous: They are consistent and accurate; can help facilities save money; and, unlike humans, are never in a bad mood. They arguably have the most acclaim in the surgical fields, where robots have been known to make insertions and assist in procedures. They also are increasingly being used as carriers, with more and more organizations using them to transport drugs, medical records, meals and laboratory samples from one end of the hospital to another. Expanding on this carrier concept, some facilities are using robots to take blood from the laboratory to a transfusion site.
At Johnson’s facility, the laboratory staff load Tug with blood products, select a preprogrammed destination on a computer touch screen, and press the robot’s green “go” button. Just like that, the machine is on its way to a medical wing of the hospital. When it reaches its destination, the robot verbally announces its arrival, at which point personnel must enter an electronic code to unlock the cart cabinet and access the contents. As with accepting components from a human deliverer, staffers must sign to confirm the blood products were received; the robot then returns the signed document to the laboratory.
The robot can go to multiple locations in one trip, and people can watch its progress on a computer screen in the laboratory. It is programmed to go through doors with card key access and on elevators. If something is blocking its path, it can ask for help.
“The onboard camera takes a picture, sends it to [the robotic manufacturer’s] headquarters, who alerts the blood bank. Someone will then go move the obstacle or manually move the robot past it,” Johnson said. The robot’s company also can move the robot remotely, if necessary.
Occasionally, people push the robot without authority. “I’ve had to pick it up in the ER,” Johnson said. Because it relies on wireless Internet signals to use its map, signal loss is a periodic concern and something the laboratory staff look out for after the robot is dispatched. Its battery, Johnson said, is long-lasting, but it does need to be recharged on occasion.
Because it is not extremely fast, Tug is not used for emergency situations but rather in times when the transfusion can be started within the hour, like for hematology and oncology cases.
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