Bengal insititute develops robotic device that can collect samples of COVID-19 suspects

The device will help the frontline healthcare workers in delivering services while maintaining social distancing, reducing the chance of them getting infected.

A health worker screens a labourer working at a brick kiln as his family members look on during the nationwide lockdown to curb the spread of coronavirus in Nadia district Tuesday April 28 2020. (Photo | PTI)

KOLKATA: The CSIR-CMERI in Durgapur has developed a low-cost robotic device that can be used for collecting samples of people having symptoms of coronavirus, besides treating COVID-19 patients.

The ''Hospital Care Assistive Robotic Device'' will be very helpful for the frontline healthcare workers who are treating COVID-19 patients, said professor Harish Hirani, director of CSIR-CMERI (Central Mechanical Engineering Research Institute).

It will help them in delivering services while maintaining social distancing, reducing the chance of them getting infected, he said.

The cost of the device is less than Rs 5 lakh and the weight is not more than 80 kg, making it easy to use and affordable for healthcare facilities, Hirani said.

The device, which has a video call facility, can also be used in providing food to the patients.

The device can be navigated through automatic and manual modes and needs to be monitored by a nursing booth with a control station.

"It will be able to transport food items, medicines, testing equipment, files, personal protective equipment in a comprehensive sterilised environment," Hirani said.

A spokesperson of the institute said the device can function in a range of 0.5 km and has a battery life of four hours.

"The clinical trial of the device has been successful. We will be ready if healthcare facilities and governments show interest," he said.