Baltimore, Maryland - 12 July, 2007
1. Wide of "Bari" the robot doctor coming into room to visit a patient
2. Medium of the robot doctor talking to a patient
3. Dr. Alex Gandsas at his computer using a joystick to control Robot
4. Tight shot of Gandsas' hand on joystick
5. Dr. Gandsas talking through computer to a nurse on the other side of hospital
6. Tight shot of video camera on top of the computer that is used to project Dr. Gandsas' image on the screen of the robot
7. Medium shot of Gandsas at his computer
8. Tight shot of Gandsas' image on the his computer screen
9. Medium shot from behind Gandsas of him using the robot. (shows the image the robot projects of the hospital as it moves, on Gandsas' computer screen)
10. Tight shot of Gandsas using the joystick to guide robot
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Alex Gandsas, Doctor
"The system allows you to be anywhere in the hospital from anywhere in world. Having said that, I can easily log in from a few yards where this office is from the hospital or even from a different country over seas."
Santa Barbara, California - recent
12. Close up of Gandsas' computer screen as he uses a Robot in Santa Barbara, California at InTouch Health headquarters (the company that makes the robots)
13. Close up of the computer screen showing the robot looking at itself in the mirror
Baltimore, Maryland - 12 July, 2007
14. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Alex Gandsas, Doctor
"(the robot) combines the Internet, robotic technology, and wireless technology. All put together in this device that looks like a six-foot-tall vacuum cleaner if you will, but it is a little more sophisticated than that. "
15. Close up of robot looking at itself in the mirror, and Dr. Gandsas explaining what the different things on the robot do
16. Medium shot of Dr. Gandsas at his computer using the joystick to guide the robot
17. Tight shot of Gandsas computer screen as he guides the robot through an obstacle course of multi-coloured traffic cones
18. Medium shot of robot with Dr. Gandsas' image on its screen talking to a patient
19. SOUNDBITE (English) David Williams, Patient at Sinai Hospital
"It is something you just don't see, and until you see it you are not going to believe it."
20. The robot moving around the office area of one of the hospital floors
21. Medium shot of Gandsas controlling the robot from his office
22. Wide shot of the robot moving down the halls of the hospital
23. Medium shot of robot moving by camera
24. Tight shot from behind the robot as it moves down the hall
25. Tight shot of the bottom of the robot as it moves down the hall
26. Tight shot of Gandsas controlling the robot as it goes into a hospital room and begins to talk to a patient of the hospital
27. SOUNDBITE (English) Dr. Alex Gandsas,
"They love it, as a matter of fact they do get upset when I don't show up with the robot. They would rather see me with the robot, than physically. I think has to do with the fact that the technology is new and they are very curious about the technology. They do embrace the technology, they do accept the technology and frankly they forget at a certain point that the robot is there."
28. Wide shot of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland
29. Tight shot of the Sinai Hospital sign
30. Wide of robot talking to hospital patient, David Williams
31. Tight shot Gandsas talking to David Williams through the robot
32. Medium shot of robot saying goodbye to Williams and leaving the hospital room
LEAD IN :
A robot is doing medical rounds in a Baltimore hospital.
But don't worry it is being controlled by a doctor remotely, allowing him to make virtual consultations when he can't make it to the patient's bedside.
Robodoc is now a familiar sight on the wards of Baltimore's Sinai Hospital, allowing doctors to check on patients while he's miles from the hospital.
Dr. Alex Gandsas remains in his office whilst he guides the joystick-controlled robot is guided into the rooms of his patients.
Outfitted with cameras, a screen and microphone allows Gandsas to communicate with his patients as if he were right there.
He says to control the robot you can be in the next room or even another country.
In addition to the normal morning and afternoon in-person rounds, Gandsas uses the $150,000 robot to visit patients at night or when problems arise.
The robot can circle the bed and adjust the position of its two cameras.
Despite resembling a 'six-foot-tall vacuum cleaner' Gandsas says the combination of robotics, wireless technology and the internet has created a useful medical tool.
Gandsas presented the idea to hospital administrators as a method to more closely monitor patients following weight-loss surgery.
The robot used by Dr. Gandsas is made by InTouch Health of Santa Barbara, California.
Gandsas, an unpaid member of an advisory board for InTouch Health, who has stock options in the company, added that since its introduction, the length of stay has been shorter for the patients visited by the robot.
A chart-review study of 376 of the doctor's patients found that the 92 patients who had additional robotic visits had shorter hospital stays.
Gandsas' study appears in the July issue of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.
Sinai patient David Williams said his family will never believe him when he tells them about the robot.
Gandsas says that many of his patients are now upset when he appears in person, preferring the novelty of the robot.
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