Tunisian hospital deploy robots in caring for coronavirus patients

Doctors in a Tunisian hospital have deployed a robot in caring for coronavirus victims to limit contact between staff and infected patients, in a first for the North African country.

The tall, single-limbed machine is mounted on wheels and is capable of taking pulses and checking temperatures and blood oxygen levels.

 “It allows a reduction in contact with the sick and therefore the risk of contaminating personnel,” said Nawel Besbes Chaouch, a doctor leading the pulmonary department at the Abderrahmane Memmi hospital in Ariana, near the capital Tunis. It also enables nurses, doctors, and patients’ relatives to make virtual bedside visits.

A screen mounted at the top of the robot enables audiovisual communication with patients, who in turn can see and recognize the faces of those caring for them – an impossibility when medics otherwise have to use full protective gear.

A website allows families to reserve a time slot for a virtual visit, where the robot is remote-controlled into the patient’s room to allow a video conversation.

The robot was designed and made in Tunisia, by Enova, a start-up based in Sousse