Theres a new high-tech employee wheeling around at Jackson Health Systems Ryder Trauma Center. Its name is CHICO.
CHICO, short for Computer Hospital Intensive Care Operator, is a remote presence robot that is operated by a joystick, comes equipped with a stethoscope and has a computer monitor for a head. It does not take the place of highly trained physicians but rather helps doctors to do their job, even when they are miles away from patients.
Dr. Antonio Marttos, Jr., assistant professor of surgery at Jackson Health Systems Ryder Trauma Center, is pictured here with CHICO, the telemedicine robot.
Doctors have always called each other for advice on patients and shared information by sending photos and test results, most recently by e-mail. But CHICO is bringing telemedicine to a whole new level. Physicians at Jackson can virtually examine patients, talk to them and access digital files, allowing them to diagnosis patients from afar.
“Weve all been practicing telemedicine, it just hasnt been this advanced,” said Jeffrey Augenstein, M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.S., professor of surgery and director of Ryder Trauma Center.
CHICO is the first of its kind to be used in a trauma center, although other similar units are used in hospitals around the country for stroke assessment and critical care management. The robot was created by the California-based In Touch Technologies. CHICO is being leased by the U.S. Army to be used at Ryder, the only trauma center selected by the Army to train its military surgeons before being deployed to areas of conflict.
About 25 doctors, surgeons and technicians at Ryder are trained to use the robot. While it is not intended to take the place of healthcare professionals, CHICO can help ease the increasing shortage in the healthcare field.
