Medical Robots

Meet TUG at the hospital

By Cutright Elizabeth on Jul 14, 2016 in Technology

With a friendly little beep and a versatile design, the TUG robot provides reliable, cost-effective task automation for hospitals and healthcare providers.

It’s a challenge faced by many working in the healthcare industry: tedious tasks stealing time better spent interacting with patients. Thankfully, that’s all beginning to change thanks to whole host of new software platforms and interactive devices specifically designed for the healthcare industry. The latest addition to the fray, TUG, promises to transform internal logistics and free staff from drudgery.

Friendly and Helpful

White, boxy and mobile, the TUG robot is designed to shoulder some of the essential but time-consuming labor hospitals depend upon to run smoothly and efficiently. With a gentle beep, beep, beep, the TUG announces its presence as it glides down hallways and waits for elevators. Voice-enabled, the TUG can interact with patients and hospitals staff through mobile devices, call boxes and touch screens.

A lot of work went into the TUG’s pleasant persona. As Wired’s Matt Simon explains, “The affection is no accident. Aethon, Tug’s manufacturer, designed it to be comforting. It may have an adult voice, but Tug has a childlike air, even though in this hospital you’re supposed to treat it like a wheelchair-bound old lady. It’s just so innocent, so earnest, and at times, a bit helpless.”

No More Drudgery

TUG proficiently performs its various jobs without complaint, but unlike other industries casting a wary eye on automation, healthcare workers don’t need to fear a robot uprising. While some hospitals admit to holding off on extra hiring thanks to TUG, the robot primarily functions to release caregivers from petty chores. Free from time-consuming but inessential duties, caregivers can spend more time focused on patient care.

Ultimately, TUGs work well as a supplement to a hospital’s workforce. Because they can transport all manner of supplies, the TUG reduces the mileage most caregivers log every day as they coordinate care and deliver supplies. Additionally, TUGs can take on the heavy lifting, removing the risk of injuries sustained while moving heavy loads.

“It’s about efficiency,” says Dan Henroid, director of the Department of Nutrition and Food Services for UCSF Medical Center, in the hospitals announcement of the robot’s arrival to the facility. “It’s not a great use of someone’s time to be transporting something from A to B.”

“That’s more time that we spend in front of the patient. We want that personal touch as much as possible.”

El Camino Hospital administrative services officer Ken King agrees, telling Wired,  “By being more efficient we’re able to devote more of our dollars toward paid employees at the bedside caring for patients, as opposed to pushing trash carts or linen carts or moving products and supplies throughout the facility.”

Flexible and Secure

The TUG opens doors on its own, waits for the elevator patiently, and evades collisions with aplomb. By interacting with its surroundings through a combination of sensors and lasers, TUG avoids bruising shins or knocking over elderly patients. Although two-way communication is somewhat limited – there will be no long philosophical discussions with your TUG companion – the unit can alert others to its presence through a series of specially engineered beeps and sounds as well as voice commands in a standard U.S. accent or jaunty Australian brogue.

In many ways, the TUG is the renaissance man of robots. It can travel from the pharmacy to the lab to the kitchen without missing a beat, collecting soiled linen and medical waste or delivering meals and medication. Able to haul up to 1000lbs, TUG’s customizable chassis can accommodate a whole host of interchangeable carts and platforms, from meal trays to trash bins.

When it comes to medication management, the TUG excels in terms of ease and risk reduction. Equipped with a biometrically controlled security system, TUG provides medication delivery quickly and easily through both prescheduled and on-demand delivery requests. Additionally, TUG helps cut down on distractions and interruptions in the pharmacy, helping staff stay focused.

“One of the number one sources of medication errors are interruptions and distractions,” Tony Melanson, Vice President of Marketing for Aethon explains in an interview with RIA magazine. “And one of the number one sources of interruptions and distractions, for the pharmacy, in particular, are phone calls.

“Now everything is visible. They don’t have to make the phone calls, because all they have to do is look at a screen and it will tell them the status of exactly where the medication is and who received it.”

“When you can reduce the amount of calls,” he concludes, “you can really improve the safety of medication preparation and ordering.”

Budget Friendly Integration

One of the TUG’s main selling points is ease of integration and low cost. The TUG works with existing infrastructure by incorporating building Wi-Fi, making it perfect for existing facilities and new construction. A TUG response team located in Pittsburg, PA monitors all TUGs 24/7, making sure each unit is operational and performing according to spec.

“One of the things that has allowed us to manage that type of customer base and to be successful is our cloud command center,” says Melanson, “which allows us to stay connected to all the robots that are installed in the customer base. If a robot encounters a problem, an algorithm detects the problem and our support technicians here can respond to that condition.

“Over 97 percent of all alerts that the robots make to the command center can be resolved remotely without any involvement by the customer on site,” he continues. ““We get a signal, and we’re able to either address the problem remotely or in the three percent of situations where we can’t deal with it remotely, we can dispatch one of the customer employees to move the bed or move the robot.”

Robots on the Rise

With 450 installed in hospitals throughout the country, TUG represents the next generation of healthcare worker. A study published last October by the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (USAHRQ) measured the effectiveness of the TUG robots. The final analysis presents a positive prognosis for TUG, with the study finding improvements in all areas of care and medication management, including the elimination of over 6000 hours of time spent normally spent tracking and retrieving medication.

“Hospital executives…feeling pressure from virtually every possible angle, but few solutions address them all,” writes Melanson in a blog post.

“By implementing low maintenance, cost-effective solutions like TUG autonomous robots,” he concludes, “hospitals can undercut demographic shifts and other changes to the healthcare landscape and move forward with the industry—not in spite of it.”