An autonomous forearm-supported walker to assist patients in nursing facilities

Over the past few decades, roboticists have developed systems for a variety of real-world settings, including healthcare facilities. Among their many possible uses in healthcare, robots could help to assist patients in nursing homes or hospitals; for instance, administering medication, food or helping patients to walk. Researchers at Hokkaido University in Japan have recently developed an innovative autonomous system that can serve as a walking aid for patients in nursing facilities or hospitals. This robotic medical walker, presented in a paper published in SpringerLink's Artificial Life and Robotics journal, does not require any intervention from nurses and caregivers, as it can autonomously locate patients and approach them when they wish to go for a walk or move to a different place within their healthcare facility. "If a patient is able to walk using a walker, doctors typically recommend walkers over wheelchairs as a tool to perform moderate exercise in nursing facilities," Yuto Mori, one of the researchers who carried out the study, told TechXplore.