SBIR-STTR Award

An estimated of hospital budgets are spent on logistics activities such as moving medications supplies devices charts and surgical instruments through the supply chain to where they are needed at the point of care At the same time nurses are only able to spend approximately of their day on direct patient care due to non value added logistics and administrative responsibilities In addition the downstream cost of ineffective logistics is enormous as patient safety issues often result when the right medication isnandapos t available or when staff are unavailable or continually interrupted by poor processes The proposed research investigates the feasibility of a new approach to robotic delivery of medications and supplies This innovation addresses limitations of both current human and robotic approaches to delivery and is able to securely and autonomously pick up and drop off supplies in a new way Instead of altering human work ows to accommodate a robot the robot instead accommodates humans through its specialized delivery systems This approach transparently integrates the robots into daily work ow reducing stress on staff and minimizing the interruptions that often cause errors As a result staff spend less time hunting down supplies and medications and devote more attention to the care of patients Infrastructure and associated costs are reduced exibility is increased and robots can serve a much greater number and variety of delivery locations The objectives of this Phase I research project will be to test the feasibility of the proposed system and to formalize a design and plan in preparation for a successful Phase II project The methods to be employed include signi cant use of simulation and modeling tools rapid prototyping and D printing automated mechanical testing user centric design and A B testing If the research proves successful improvements in the ow of materials through hospitals will have a positive impact on healthcare costs staff satisfaction and patient safety An estimated of hospital budgets are spent on logistics activities while at the same time nurses are only able to spend of their time on direct patient care due to non value added responsibilities Furthermore ineffective logistics often cause downstream patient safety issues which result in tremendous costs both nancially and in terms of patient health The proposed research investigates the feasibility of a robotic delivery system that is able to securely and autonomously pick up and drop off supplies in a facility relieving staff from dangerous interruptions and allowing them to spend more time with patients