ABB demonstrates automation, robotics for Hospital of the Future (video)

Non-surgical medical robots estimated to reach 60,000 by 2025; mobile, autonomous YuMi robot will work alongside medical staff.

ABB opened its first global healthcare research hub on the Texas Medical Center (TMC) campus, in Houston, Texas – showcasing a number of concept technologies, including a mobile YuMi robot, which will be designed to assist medical and laboratory staff with laboratory and logistics tasks in hospitals.

Other technologies showcased by ABB at the Healthcare Research Hub include YuMi robots that could aid in centrifuge tending and test tube handling systems, and an IRB 1200 robot that could execute liquid transfers in a pipetting application. All are common medical laboratory tasks that robotic automation may be able to support by combining consistent performance with a level of flexibility and continuous operation that could increase throughput and quality while minimizing costs.

“Our experience in industrial and collaborative robotics will give us a strong basis to be able to adapt flexible automation to the healthcare sector,” says Sami Atiya, president of ABB’s Robotics and Discrete Automation business. “Together with our partners at TMC, we will develop cutting-edge robotics solutions. We are working to reduce the number of manual procedures performed by medical staff, improve the accuracy of laboratory work and enhance patient satisfaction and ultimately patient safety.”