Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital

Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital has introduced five types of ‘service robots’ since last year. It started with 28 units, and now it is expected to increase to 72 units this year. The Command Center is an organization responsible for the introduction and operation of service robots.

Director Me Yeon Lee at the Command Center of Hallym University Sacred Heart Hospital said, “I had a chance to exchange knowledge of healthcare with Denmark and Sweden, and they were surprised to hear that we are using service robots in our hospital.” She also reminded, “However, we still have a long way to go.”

Director Lee said that there are many things to consider for smoother use of robots in medical institutions. She mentioned, “Even if there is no one to manage the robot at night shift, the stability is established well enough to deliver items without any problems.” She also added, “We are also preparing for stabilization in consideration of hospital characteristics such as automatic doors.”

Director Lee expects that it will be possible to compare the number of deliveries, such as medicine deliveries to that of the previous months and see whether people can save time for work after this summer.

For the smooth operation of service robots in hospitals, collaboration with robot manufacturers is as important as use of service robots by the medical staff. Since development in the characteristics of service robots customized for medical institutions is different from that of the normal robot manufacturing process, communication between medical staff and robot developers is also important. Director Me Yeon Lee of Command Center said that she wants to spread her knowledge of robot development and application based on hospital services.

By Hyun Ho Choi, Int’l Cooperation Team, HUMC (dullie1989@hallym.or.kr)