A Review of Identity and Roles of Robotics in the Healthcare Industry

Abstract

Robotics is a branch of engineering that deals with the design, construction, operation and application of robots to perform some physical tasks on behalf of human beings with varying degrees of autonomy. Generally, robots are used to perform jobs that are highly repetitive or have a high risk towards human’s life. This article seeks to critically examine various classifications of robots used in the healthcare industry and their specific applications. This paper looks at advances made in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics mainly focusing on notable progress by key players like IBM Watson and Google’s DeepMind. The study explores robotic applications in different medical setups such as surgical operations, telemedicine, rehabilitation, radiation, telepresence, socially useful activities and pharmacy services. Besides that, this article discusses how potentially imaging nurse robots, cleaning robot and delivery/transporting robot can change health care sector in future. The article underscores the need for more research and development efforts to enhance comprehension of the functionalities and potential uses of robots within the healthcare sector.