MAE Professor publishes research on human–robot interaction for clinical care in infectious environments

This image has an empty alt attribute; its file name is Hao-Su-e1629317024286-500x500-1.jpgMotivated by an increased need for robotic systems in the field of public health caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, MAE Associate Professor Dr. Hao Su contributed to research published last year in Nature Machine Intelligence, a prestigious scientific journal dedicated to covering machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Su worked with a team of researchers from across the country to publish the article Physical human–robot interaction for clinical care in infectious environments, which discusses the uses, limitations and future of robotic systems in in future infectious disease outbreaks. Su co-authored the article with Dr. Russell Taylor, Dr. Axel Krieger and Dr. Brian Garibaldi from Johns Hopkins University and Dr. Robin Murphy from Texas A&M University.

According to the article, adaptable robotic systems with enhanced sensing, manipulation and autonomy capabilities could help address the challenges with robotics faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In January, Nature Machine Intelligence published another article featuring a Q&A with Su and his fellow researchers about the current status and future of their research, which states that the researchers identified three major areas where robots can improve patient care and safety for healthcare providers in the combat against infectious diseases: diagnostic procedures, interventional procedures and bedside care.

“To tackle clinical challenges in these areas, highly flexible and versatile medical robots are needed,” the article states. “Exploring research topics in physical human–robot interaction, including sensing, manipulation and autonomy, can enable such advances.”

After identifying the areas in which robotics can make a difference in addressing infectious diseases, the researchers set out to publish a paper that highlights the major technological barriers in robotics for clinical care during a pandemic for not only roboticists, but also broader audiences, specifically policymakers.

Since publishing their paper, the researchers have noted that the most frequent feedback they receive is that their paper helped to introduce the opportunities and challenges of robotics for clinical care to researchers who had not previously considered working in robotics for clinical care in infectious environments. According to the article, the researchers are encouraged by the robotics community being actively engaged in the discussions of how robotics can better protect healthcare workers, handle patient surges, and enable hospitals and medical care to keep functioning.

The article states that the researchers were surprised to learn how many of the robots being used in this setting already existed.

“Of the 338 documented cases of robots in use for the pandemic in 48 countries, 73% were commercially available. The remainder were robots that were modified either to fit a particular application or to fulfil a new need, like autonomous remote nose swabbing,” the article states. “The concern is that in the rush to meet emerging needs, innovative robotics technology or copycat robots may not be sufficiently reliable to be put into operation. As with developing new vaccines, robots need rapid and thorough testing.”

In the months since their paper was originally published, Su and his fellow researchers have further developed their thinking on the topic of human–robot interaction for clinical care in infectious environments. They have continued to identify and address the challenge associated with implementing robotics to improve safety and better equip hospitals and medical care providers during infectious disease outbreaks.

“The biggest use of robots in clinical care was to protect healthcare workers by allowing them to work remotely and handle the surge in patients by offloading mundane tasks such as disinfecting, transporting bio-waste and delivering meals and medicine,” the article states. “We found that some of the most critically needed robots are for more capable infectious materials handling, lab automation and endotracheal intubation.”

The researchers also identified issues that need to be addressed to successfully implement the robots that are needed most, among these issues are those that involve basic hardware and physical capabilities, autonomy and intelligent control systems, and human–machine communication. Other issues that need to be addressed to integrate such robots into existing operations include various systems issues, low-cost manufacturing requirements, and the need for training and IT resources.

In review of their research, the researchers hope to see a coherent national or international strategy developed to increase preparedness to use robotic systems in future emergencies like the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the article, the researchers hope to see this strategy address the barriers that stand in the way of integrating more comprehensive robotics in infectious environments. They also hope to see more incentives for accelerating the transition from research prototypes to replicated and deployed systems for emerging crisis applications.

Specifically, they believe that medical insurance and regulators should permit reimbursement of hospitals for using robots.

They also hope that robotics researchers will have more opportunities to collaborate with clinicians to understand and prioritize the most critical research questions so that the research conducted for their paper can continue to grow and better prepare the field of healthcare for future infectious disease outbreaks and other crises.

To read the paper published by Su and his fellow researchers in its entirety, visit the Nature Machine Intelligence website.