Will Robots Come to Our Medical Rescue?
From: Electronic Design - 08/16/2007 - page 28
By: Daniel Harris

Even just a few years ago, robotic doctors seemed decades away. But many
physicians now use a remotely controlled robot with a built-in video
conference system to provide medical care. The RP-7 from InTouch Health
provides a "remote presence" that allows physicians to interact with patients
regardless of their physical location. 

The RP-7 has two fundamental pieces: a control station and a robot. The
remote physician controls the robot with a joystick attached to a laptop. The
physician and patient can see each other in real time thanks to video cameras
with 5X optical zoom and 24-bit color 320- by 240-pixel resolution at 30
frames per second.  

Thanks to the RP-7 system's "many-to-many" system architecture, any control
station may connect to any robot. This lets physicians who work out of an
office, hospital, or home connect to any robot in any intensive care unit,
emergency department, or patient ward. The RP-7 robot sells for $150,000. 

Read the entire article at:
http://www.elecdesign.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=16236

Links:
InTouch Health 
http://www.intouch-health.com/products-RP7.html
