Healthcare, the Road to Robotic Helpers 
From: ICT Results - 08/05/2009

Arjan Rensma with the Dutch Innovation agency TNO says the healthcare
industry is particularly ripe for a robotics revolution. Rensma says that
surgical robots show that advanced, human-care robots are possible, but
Europe needs a clear road map to transform current research and development
efforts into a leading robotics for healthcare (R4H) industry. A WTEC
technology report says there is a disconnect between research and development
prototypes and potential commercial products. Rensma says one of the biggest
hurdles preventing the commercialization of R4H is how the healthcare system
is currently funded, a complex challenge that requires more effort to find a
solution. Rensma says it is not a matter of providing more money for robotics
applications, but rather a matter of building greater user involvement to
develop the "right" robotic applications. Rensma led a group of research
organizations, including Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, VTT technical research,
Vilans, and EuroAct Japan, in mapping a way forward for European robotics in
medical and healthcare. The group predicts growth in smart medical capsules
that can travel through the body to administer medicine in specific areas.
The group also says that intelligent "natural limb" prosthetics controlled by
thought have significant potential, as does using robots to assist stroke
patients and others with limited motor coordination in rehabilitation. The
group identified robotized patient monitoring systems as an area of great
potential, particularly in homecare and elder care in countries with aging
populations and overworked healthcare systems. 

Read the entire article at:
http://cordis.europa.eu/ictresults/index.cfm?section=news&tpl=article&BrowsingType=Features&ID=90794

Links:
Road map for application of robotics in medicine and healthcare
http://www.tno.nl/content.cfm?context=markten&content=product&laag1=280&laag2=283&item_id=1399&Taal=2

The road map report on the EU's europa portal
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/activities/health/docs/studies/robotics-final-report.pdf

Report on healthcare robotics in Japan (Rathenau Instituut)
http://www.rathenau.nl/files/Beyond%20the%20surface%20Rathenau%20Instituut(1).pdf