(Miss Madhu Hiremath)
**Student, Department of Hospital Management, IIHMR, Bangalore
Abstracts:
Human life is evolving and so is technology. Healthcare, which is one of the major concerns in the 21stCentury, is entering a phase where technology is becoming an enabler. In the near future, say technologists and doctors, robots will help us a great deal in bringing down the northbound costs of healthcare and improving operational efficiency and quality of care. Robotics for Healthcare caters mainly six representative areas like Smart medical capsules, Robotized surgery, Intelligent prosthetics, Robotized motor coordination analysis and therapy, Robot-assisted mental, cognitive and social therapy, Robotized patient monitoring systems and many more innovations are expected by around the year 2025. Ethical and legal aspects are also likely to pose obstacles to the developments at some point. It is a field of innovation that encompasses many interesting leads, problems to be solved and challenges to be met. Robotic surgery is one of the most significant advances in healthcare in recent years. However like any other technological advance, it too comes with a heavy price tag. Aggressive marketing by the manufacturers and surgeons may lead to unethical practices. This article analyses the applicability of robotics to healthcare in India and as compare to North America and European countries. India too is not left behind in acquiring robots in their surgical departments like Nova spine care, Apollo, AIIMS, KIMS, Medanta Hospitals etc. At present, the scope for robotics in India is limited because of cost considerations. However Robots aren’t being designed to eliminate people. Instead, they can help reduce physical demands and workloads.
Key Words: Robotics for Healthcare, Intelligent prosthetics, Robotized motor Coordination analysis, Robotic surgery