Medical service robots, Innovation Best Award winner at IBIX 2020, a success ready to be further developed to develop the Thai medical industry

Amid the worrying news of COVID-19 cases still having to contend with each other every day, we have some good news that has recently happened to us Thais. TKK Corporation Co Ltd The company, which specializes in consulting and distributing products related to robots and factory automation, has joined forces with Chulaporn International College of Medicine, Thammasat University and the Center for Robotics and Automation Innovation, the Institute of Intellectual Property Management (PIM) and business partners to jointly develop medical service robot called "Autonomous Mobile Robot for Hospital Care Services", with the main aim of facilitating medical staff in transporting food, equipment and medicines and reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Thanks to the efficiency that meets the needs of medical personnel, both reducing the burden and reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection for these medical personnel, The medical service robot, which was developed jointly by these three agencies, caught the eye of the judges of the Innovation Best Award 2020 at the UK Invention Expo (IBIX) and won the grand prize.

Update the concept, Create 'medical service robots', Bringing fame to Thailand, renowned even abroad.

For the creative team of automated mobile robots for medical services. Includes Associate Professor Kammal Kumar Pawa, M.D. Former Dean of the Faculty of International Medicine of Chulaporn and Vice President for Special Affairs, Thammasat University, Kalyanee Kongsomjit Chairman of the Board of Directors, TKK Corporation Co., Ltd., Dr. Thanawat Somjaithawiporn Director of the Robotics and Automation Innovation Center, Panyapiwat Institute of Management, Kanit Walayapet Former Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister's Office and Director of Baker & McKenzie Ltd., and Dr. Busara Wongraksak Director of the Integrated Medical Management Program (EMMP)

Associate Professor Dr. Kammal provided information on the initial concept that led to the design of this 'medical service robot':

“From my medical study trip to China, I saw that technology has been adapted to provide medical services very quickly. For example, patients can complete their medical records at home. When they arrive at the hospital, they only need to show the staff a message from the hospital confirming their appointment. Then, the staff can send the patient to the various departments without having to wait in line since early morning.”

“In addition, the patient's information is immediately transmitted electronically, and in the process of dispensing the medicine, robots are used to organize the medication. Owing to this advanced system, they can provides medical services very quickly and also responds well in the field of treatment standards, because all the information is reported to assess the standard of treatment, This allows the hospital to know how many patients need urgent treatment and how to deal with this group of patients in particular. All of the systems mentioned above do not yet exist in Thailand.”

“When I came back from China, I wondered if Thailand could do it. How could it do it? I kept this idea until the COVID-19 crisis, TKK Corporation Co., Ltd. came up with a model of this medical service robot, or AGV Robot. We saw that this robot could continue to evolve from applications that had to be connected to 5G signals and Controlled by mobile phones, resulting in seamless service, patients can reduce the cost of coming to the hospital, reduce the time spent in the hospital, return to their livelihoods, earn more income.”

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With all these results, the team that created this robot together saw that the development of automated mobile robots for medical services will benefit Thai society and the medical industry as a whole. This year's IBIX award is a source of pride for all Thai people and is a guarantee that innovations designed and invented by Thai people are effective and practical, just as good as innovations from other countries.

Dr. Thanawat Somjai Thawiporn, Director of the Robotics and Automation Innovation Center, Panyapiwat Institute of Management, further mentioned the success of this collaboration as follows :

“By position, I will play a role in education as the Director of the Robotics and Automation Innovation Center (PIM), with a role in planning human resource development and policies in collaboration with the EEC, including a role on the Committee of the Thailand Center of Robotic Excellence (CoRE) approved by the Cabinet under the supervision of the Ministry of Industry, which is responsible for setting the direction of various policies and benefits related to robotics in Thailand.”

“In the past, the industrial sector has used robots a lot. Originally, robots were not of much interest in the medical field. When COVID came, many innovations emerged: surgical robots, blood sampling robots, and blood pressure measuring robots. The robots that are truly suitable for Thailand are service robots. If doctors go directly to patients with COVID, they are at risk of infection. Or if they have cancer, they have to use radioactive minerals, which poses a risk to the service provider. Therefore, it is best to use a robot.”

For the IBIX Award from the International British Inventions, Innovation Exhibition (IBIX), it must be said that this is an achievement that came from the cooperation of many parties. Associate Professor Kammal is the Supervisor of this project. Dr. Busara is the coordinator. With her experience and expertise in organizing medical personnel development courses, she provides important information on the development of robots for medical use.

“In addition, we also have a vision from Mr. Kanit, who used to be an assistant minister. He will help look at laws, regulations, rules, and guidelines. As for Ms. Kalyanee, she is in the position of the manufacturer and owner of the materials and equipment that will create this robot.”

“In the past, Thailand has proven itself in many ways, especially in public health. Foreign investors must think about which country is suitable. Another thing is geography. We have a geographical advantage. Thai people are skilled. If you notice, you will see that Thais have won world-class innovation awards. And this IBIX award, there were 40 countries that participated in the competition, but Thailand was the only country in the world.”

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Developing robots, transform Thailand’s medical industry — a dream that can come true through collaboration.

Here is another person who played a role in creating an autonomous mobile robot for efficient medical services, which caught the eye of the judges and won the grand prize at this year’s UK Innovation Expo (IBIX). Kalyanee Kongsomjit, Chairwoman of TKK Corporation Co., Ltd., began her perspective as a business owner who intends to use her experience and expertise in consulting and distributing products related to robots and factory automation systems to expand and create innovations that are beneficial to the Thai medical field.

During the first wave of the COVID-19 outbreak, we found that there was a shortage of medical equipment, including infection prevention equipment for many medical personnel. At that time, TKK participated in donating these equipment, starting with donating PPE sets, alcohol gel, and face masks. At one point, we felt that we could do more to help society and medical personnel.

“Because TKK is basically a business that is mainly about being a distributor and installing spare parts of machinery in industrial factories, we have complete equipment to create robots to help medical personnel in Thailand. This project to design and produce an automatic mobile robot for medical services, AGV, was born.”

“In addition, the equipment, materials, and parts used to assemble this robot are all high-quality equipment that we sell to our customers, which are already leading industrial factories. Therefore, we can design and assemble the robot to meet the purpose of transporting medicine, medical equipment, and various medical supplies. The AGV medical service robot that we designed will walk on magnetic strips, helping medical personnel to work more easily and reducing the risk of COVID-19 infection.”

“In developing this AGV robot, we also have good partners, such as the Robotics and Automation Innovation Center, Panyapiwat Institute of Management (PIM), and Chulabhorn International College of Medicine, Thammasat University, who came to be design consultants by providing important ideas in creating the robot.”

“Because TKK is in the position of a business operator in installing robots and automation systems for various industries, the Robotics and Automation Innovation Center, Panyapiwat Institute of Management is an educational institution with expertise in robotics, while Chulabhorn International College of Medicine has expertise in medicine. When the three organizations joined forces, the idea of creating the AGV medical service robot that effectively meets the needs of medical applications was born.”

The purpose of designing this medical service robot is not to disrupt the work of medical personnel. Instead, we intend for the robot to be an assistant, reducing the burden and risk for medical personnel more than them, by having the robot perform tasks that do not require much skill from doctors and nurses, reducing contact and the risk of infection. The duties are to transport and deliver equipment, medicine, etc.

And this award, the Innovation Best Award, is given to outstanding innovations. This year, more than 1,000 innovators from 40 countries around the world submitted their work. But in the end, our autonomous mobile robot for medical services was selected to receive the Innovation Excellence Award or Innovation Best Award 2020 from the UK Invention Expo (IBIX), which is a source of pride for Thailand and this award was received during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is considered a good thing that happened amidst this pandemic crisis.

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Introducing the profile of medical service robots, Thai craftsmanship, creating a name far beyond the iBix stage

When asked about the outstanding features of this medical service robot, the chairman of TKK Corporation Co., Ltd. summarized that:

• It works with 2 systems: long-distance driving through 5G system and automatic self-driving.
• A real-time remote communication system with doctors through a screen mounted on the robot body, to reduce the risk of medical personnel coming into contact with germs during operation.
• There is a patient identity scanning system to unlock seizures and to prevent transmission errors. A patient's temperature can be checked without touching.
• There is a post-mission disinfection system

In addition, this medical service robot can be produced at an affordable cost. It is designed to be user-friendly, meaning it has separate medicine and food compartments and can return to the battery dock to charge itself. All of the functions mentioned above, when combined, are proof of the robot's true capabilities, that it can be used in practice and that all of the aforementioned features can be used seamlessly and holistically.

“This medical service robot will create changes in the Thai medical and public health sector in that nurses will not have to do routine, repetitive work. It will reduce their workload in order to increase their potential and capabilities in other areas. It must be admitted that some workers may have to leave the cycle of working in a certain position. However, this does not mean that these workers must leave their jobs. They will just have to be upskilled to do more complex, difficult work or work that requires more skills and abilities, leaving the repetitive work to the robots.”

And in addition to the medical service robots made by Thais that have successfully brought fame to Thailand, when asked whether the technology and innovations that TKK is capable of and has expertise in have any additional role in reducing the burden and risk for medical personnel, Kalyanee gave an update on this issue:

“In addition to Delivery Robot, there are many other Digital Technology Platform technologies that are emerging at this time. The first innovation is the Vending Machine or Smart Kiosk, which will solve the problem of patients having to wait in line to receive treatment at the hospital at 4 am. From now on, nurses who used to have to screen, take temperatures, and record documents of those who come for treatment will not have to do these tasks. The Smart Kiosk that we have developed will do the job instead. In addition, when the card is inserted, it can show all the information of the patient, such as what kind of medical treatment rights they have, whether the 30-baht universal healthcare system treats all diseases, or whether they have a gold card.”

“Next is Smart Vending Machine, which was created from the discovery that hospitals have a lot of used and wasted equipment. If we have Smart Vending Machine from now on, it will help reduce the steps of disbursement. We can cut stock immediately. This Smart Vending Machine can be installed easily, quickly, and cheaply.”

Highlight opportunities for the development of medical innovation hidden in the COVID-19 crisis

On the last point, Kalyanee also left a message saying, “We must thank COVID-19 for helping us reduce the time for research, study, invention, and medical innovation from 5-10 years to just 8 months. And from now on, thinkers, academics, and even ordinary people will not stop inventing innovations to find opportunities hidden in the crisis.”

“Personally, I like the atmosphere during the COVID-19 outbreak in terms of fostering cooperation, helping each other, thinking together, creating together, and inventing together. I strongly believe that this kind of culture is very important as an indicator of Thailand’s future development.”

“Because as long as we don’t stop thinking, stop inventing, that means we don’t stop being just consumers, but we develop into thinkers, inventors who take action until the innovation can be used in practice, not just thinking, inventing, and just sitting on the shelf.”