The CEO of a local robotics startup recently announced a three-month pilot with Erlanger Hospital to deploy its first autonomous logistics robot to transport lab samples inside the hospital.
Vivek Thankachan, CEO and co-founder of Chattanooga-based Zeus Robotics, said the pilot is the company’s first deployment of its ZERA unit, an autonomous robot aimed at reducing the workload on already over-burdened hospital frontline staff.
To do that, the unit will transport lab samples like blood, swabs or biopsies from one area of the hospital to another, autonomously navigating hospital hallways and using a robotic arm to open doors and use elevators.
“Clinicians shouldn’t be moving things around the hospital. They are clinicians. They should be attending to patients,” Thankachan said. “We need nurses for patient care, because wherever the technology goes in the future, the touch and care can only be given by a human to a human. We cannot replace that with a machine. We need our healthcare staff. We need our nurses.”
Site assessment work has already been done, Thankachan said, and the robot itself will be deployed in mid October. The goal of the pilot is to assess how hospital staff workflows can be improved through the use of the ZERA unit, Thankachan said. He hopes in the future to expand the unit’s transportation capabilities to potentially include documents, linens or other supplies as well as medication.
Thankachan said the ZERA’s security mechanisms allow it to transport regulated or sensitive materials. It requires biometric scans tied to individual employees both to open the unit to place something inside and then to open it again once the robot has reached its destination. In addition, the unit does not connect to hospital W-Fi or other telecommunications systems, nor does it ever electronically store patient information, he said.
He reiterated that the aim of the pilot isn’t to replace human workers. Instead, he said, it’s meant to allow clinical staff more time and resources to focus on patient care.
“Nurses shouldn’t be burned out running things between floors,” he said. “They should be spending time with patients.”
This marks the first deployment of its ZERA unit for the one-year-old Zeus Robotics, and in a written statement, Erlanger leadership said it is excited to partner with a locally based company.
“Erlanger is excited to work with local businesses that share our commitment to this community’s health and well-being,” the statement read. “These partnerships help us bring new ideas, resources and energy to the care we provide, and we’re proud to be part of an environment in Chattanooga where innovation can thrive.”
Contact staff writer John P. Boan at [email protected].
John P. Boan
John Peyton Boan has worked in journalism, communications and public relations since graduating from Belmont University in Nashville in 2008. He has been recognized by the Georgia Press Association for outstanding feature writing and investigative journalism.
He lives with his wife Taylor, his daughter Eliza and his miniature dachshund Lula in Chattanooga.
