Karnataka: Robots to step in for monitoring Covid-19 patients

Bengaluru: The shortage of doctors and health care personnel, Karnataka is planning to use Robot technology. The state government is considering introducing robots for monitoring asymptomatic and mild Covid-19 cases at the 10,100 bed Covid Care Centre that is coming up at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre.

The robot being considered for use is made on the model of telepresence. Though it is from the US, it has been assembled in Karnataka. A demo was given on Wednesday. Dr CN Manjunath, nodal officer, lab and testing, Covid 19 taskforce, said the robots will be used to treat patients and can be remotely connected to the team of specialists.

Speaking on this, Manjunath said, "A demo will be given at Jayadeva Institute of Cardiovascular Sciences and Research on Thursday and the pilot project will also be taken up there. Each robot costs close to Rs 10-11 lakh. It's available for rent also. One robot can be used for 200 patients."

The robots are expected to relieve the doctors' load by facilitating virtual rounds and thousands of patients can be managed with minimal human resource.

He added, "The robots are app-based and consultants monitoring the patient can download it on their phones. The doctors can converse with the patients via the robots and keep track of the patient."