Singapore’s elderly population is set to double to 900,000 by 2030, with non-communicable chronic diseases accounting for an increasing majority of the disease burden. Many routine tasks in the ward often distract nurses from planning and delivering holistic care to these patients.
This project aims to develop an autonomous mobile robot with foundational capabilities in Human Robot Interaction (HRI) and self-sanitisation, to support nurses in carrying out the following tasks for warded patients:
- Measure a patient’s vital signs (pulse, respiration rate, blood pressure, temperature, blood oxygen saturation) according to a predetermined schedule
- Deliver and dispense medication to the patient autonomously
- Deliver items such as beverages and blankets to the patient autonomously
This will provide nurses with more time to focus on activities such as optimal care planning and patient engagement/education.
Principal Investigator: A/Prof Jason Phua
Host Institution: Alexandra Hospital
SHARP Grant ref: 192 22 00004