Here’s how robotics in healthcare settings could reduce wait times

A Kitchener-based company is looking to address healthcare shortages through its artificial intelligence-powered robotics system.

The first-of-its-kind robot is expected to reduce costs and procedure times, showing that science fiction is becoming a reality.

Powered by the University of Waterloo's startup Incubator Velocity, Cobionix's artificial-intelligence robotics system, named Codi, hopes to increase access to diagnostic imaging and improve patient care.

"If you've been to the doctor recently or have been trying to get some tests recently, you know how long the wait times are,” Cobionix CEO Nima Zamani said.

The brains behind this creation feel it can help fill the gaps in healthcare.

“Our platform is essentially the brains and the body of the system. And we just replace the hand of the robot depending on the specific task,”, Tim Lasswell co- founder of Cobionix said.

The first version became the world's first autonomous intramuscular injection, and another first is on the way.

“Autonomous ultrasounds will be the first of its kind,” Zamani said.

The purpose is to eliminate the need for dedicated health professionals to be in rooms for non-complex procedures.

“It's going to significantly decrease the wait times,” according to Zamani.

By the time a patient walks in, the robot would know the type of ultrasound required. Then, through its screen and speakers, it would greet and guide a patient through the steps.

“The robot has to be able to sense the facial expressions, the forces, all that to be able to adjust in real-time,” Zamani said.

For anyone wary of giving a robot full control, remote technicians keep a watchful eye.

“We have human monitoring, human supervising to ensure that if the robot is unable to perform a certain task, a human can jump in and assist. And really it's analogous to self-checkout lanes at the grocery store,” said Lasswell.

It'll be another couple of years before these robots hit the market.

But that little bit of waiting will hopefully eliminate any waiting in the future.