Spain Will Use Robots In Fight Against COVID-19, Do 80,000 Tests Daily And Save Physicians
Spain will be deploying a fleet of robots for the COVID-19 testing. The idea is to accelerate the testing process while reducing the risk of exposure to the already strained medical workforce. Several other countries are already using robotics at various stages of the virus cure.
A crucial struggle in the fight against Coronavirus is to test as many potential cases as timely as possible. Countries are already spending huge portions of their medical workforce for the same, even exposing the workforce to the risk in the process. Spain now plans to change that by deploying a fleet of robots for this testing.
As per a new report, the country will be deploying a fleet of robots for the COVID-19 testing. The idea is to accelerate the testing process, while reducing the risk of exposure to the already strained medical workforce in the country as cases of doctors and nurses contracting the virus from patients increase day by day.
(Representative Image: Reuters)
The idea was discussed at a health ministry press conference on Saturday. Put forward by Raquel Yotti, head of Madrid-based Health Institute Carlos III, Spain, the plan to automate testing through robots has already been designed and constitutes four robots that will be able to carry out 80,000 tests in a day.
No details about the working of these robots has been shared till now. Though this is not the first attempt at executing a plan like this. Several other countries are already using robotics at various stages of the virus cure to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic.
Other instances of robot use
China, for instance, used a fleet of robots in a hospital in Wuhan that were able to take temperatures, deliver meals as well as disinfect the facility. A robotic testing system is also being deployed in Northern Ireland, while a robot with a stethoscope is being used to take vital signs from a diagnosed patient in Washington, US. Back in India, Kerala has deployed a robot to spread COVID-19 awareness and distribute sanitisers.
AFP
With the outbreak of the COVID-19 and the conditions of the pandemic standing where they are at present, medical aid emerges as one of the most potent fields for robotic use.
As and when such robots are perfected for a specific task, such disease outbreaks will be better managed through the use of robots and help keep our medical workforce out of trouble.
