Italian hospital tests robot that talks to patients and assists healthcare teams

Patient can indicate their pain level using a scale with the help of the Alter-Ego robot MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP A robot with expressive eyebrows capable of interacting with patients is being tested at a hospital in Milan. The expectation is that it will help reduce the healthcare team's workload by performing basic but essential tasks. 🗒️Do you have a story suggestion? Send it to g1 Named "Alter-Ego", the 1.2-meter robot can perform functions ranging from representing a doctor in remote care to bringing a bottle of water to a patient or accompanying them to a treatment room. At the Maugeri hospital in Milan, 31-year-old Daniel Senna records his pain level on a screen installed on the robot's chest. Robot uses AI and wins table tennis match against professional athletes "Hello, Dani.

How are you? Do you need anything?", asks Ego to Senna, who uses a wheelchair. At the same time, the collected data is immediately sent to the sector's nursing team. The robot has been tested since April in a department specialized in caring for people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative disease. "At first, we were afraid that patients would react negatively", explained Christian Lunetta, director of the institution's neuromotor rehabilitation department, to AFP. But they were soon "very satisfied, because the robot was designed to arouse curiosity, and its movements — or at least its functions — indicate a wide variety of possible uses". Lightening the load The humanoid robot Alter-Ego, designed by the Italian Institute of Technology MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP The project is the result of a partnership between the Italian Institute of Technology and the University of Pisa, in the north of the country. For now, the robot is remotely controlled by an operator.

Starting in July, however, it will begin to operate autonomously. The advancement of artificial intelligence has accelerated the development of robotics, but these machines still need to go through a long training phase before operating without supervision. According to Manuel Catalano, from the Italian Institute of Technology, the goal of the experiment in Milan is to work together with patients and caregivers to better understand the limits of what a robot can or should do within a hospital. Catalano added that, in the future, "Alter-Ego" could also assist patients and caregivers in their own homes. Regarding hospitals, Lunetta noted that these institutions "have many repetitive tasks" that "could be delegated to a good robot". "This would also allow us to value human work more, dedicating more time to the relationship with patients", he added. "Although 'Alter-Ego' seems very capable, no one considered directly delegating the administration of medication to it", noted neurologist Rachele Piras. Even so, it can be useful. Patients may feel more comfortable making requests directly to the robot, which would also help reduce the caregivers' workload. The humanoid robot Alter-Ego, designed by the Italian Institute of Technology, greets a patient at the IRCSS Maugeri hospital in Milan MARCO BERTORELLO / AFP.