Ten Veterans Administration hospitals will use radio frequency identification-based robots from Aethon Inc., Pittsburgh, that are designed to help track and deliver supplies.
The VA Mid-Atlantic Health Care Network will install 21 of the vendor's TUG robots across eight of its hospitals. Additionally the VA Boston Healthcare System's Roxbury Campus and the VA Healthcare System of Ohio's Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Clinic in Columbus will each use three TUGs.
The TUG robots are about the size of a suitcase and roam around a designated area via a mobile cart. They have been programmed with a floor plan of the hospital to guide their direction.
The robot is designed to transport specific items across the hospital and track location data via RFID. When returned to a charging station, they download location data to a centralized database from the vendor.
Clinicians use the database to locate supplies as well as request a TUG robot to bring supplies to their location. Pharmacy and materials management departments receive requested supply orders through the database. They load the requested supply into the robot via a touch screen on the device and program delivery to a specific location.
The robots announce their arrival at a destination and have sensors to alert them to obstacles in their way. They also have embedded technology to enable them to travel on hospital elevators by calling them when they aren't in use.
For more information, go to aethon.com.
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