The University of Pretoria’s faculty of Health Science and Steve Biko Academic Hospital has welcomed a new member to the ICU team.
The new member is a mobile robot named “Stevie”, named after the South African ant-apartheid struggle icon Steve Biko, who’s main function is to help doctors with the treatment of patients during the pandemic and foster instant live communication between German and South African ICU teams daily.
“Telemedicine plays a crucial role in encouraging long-distance patient and clinician care. Covid-19 has been a massive disruptor in society, especially in the healthcare sector,” said Dean of UP’s Faculty of Health Sciences Professor Tiaan de Jager, in a statement.
Stevie, which will help doctors identify illnesses and diseases in ICU, has a privacy handset for confidential communication. It also has a stethoscope port for relaying information during an examination of a patient as well as a high-definition pan-tilt-zoom camera for diagnosis.
According to Professor Fathima Paruk, Academic and Clinical Head of the Department of Critical Care at UP and Steve Biko Academic Hospital, “ICU specialists and their teams based in Germany at the CU and RKI will join the South African ICU team in person through the robot’s digital screen.
“Both the SA and German teams, led by ICU specialists, will be able to interact virtually. This will enable the team from Germany to see the patient, look at the ICU monitors, and engage in discussions with patients. The ward round will involve discussing the medical condition and include a management plan over a secure line.”
Stevie will also help Covid patients and will be used to exchange ideas, assist in specialist training, global collaborations and webinars and workshops.
Sources: Business Insider, SANews.gov.za, Showme.co.za
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