Telehealth Robot Crosses Language Barriers

Weisman Children's Rehabilitation Hospital (Marlton, NJ, USA), a leading provider of pediatric rehabilitation services, is adding a new member to its clinical staff— VEGO the telehealth robot.

VEGO—whose official name will be determined later by patients, who will vote on the best suggested name—allows doctors to extend their reach to monitor and consult with patients, families, and staff at Weisman when they cannot be there in person, or to solve a developing condition that would otherwise require transport of a patient and interruption of rehabilitation therapy. VEGO also assists in translation services by acting as a portal between the translator and the patient and family. VEGO can also be used to allow other family members to "visit" loved ones when they can't be there in person.

VEGO is integrated with a camera, microphones, and video display, all on a light-weight, motorized, remote-controlled platform. It is one meter tall, so it works equally well when interacting with people who are sitting or standing. An accessory can raise the height to 1.25 m for applications where people are always standing, or when a higher view is needed. VEGO is battery powered and recharges by automatically positioning itself on its charging dock. VEGO was developed by VGo Communications (Nashua, NH, USA), which produces robotic telepresence solutions for healthcare, education, and the workplace.

“The language phone line works well but whenever you can have people connecting face to face, there is a greater level of comfort and understanding since a large part of communication is nonverbal,” said Mike Rosiak, COO of Weisman Children's. “Recently a family connected with loved ones in Puerto Rico through VEGO.”

Weisman Children's Rehabilitation Hospital is a leading provider of pediatric rehabilitation services on an inpatient, outpatient, and medical day care basis, serving children in five facilities throughout South Jersey. It employs more than 300 administration and clinical staff. Weisman's VEGO will be introduced to the public at the grand opening celebration of the expanded and relocated medical daycare and outpatient site at in Pennsauken (NJ, USA). During the grand opening, VEGO will lead the ribbon cutting ceremony with elected officials, Weisman administration, and patient families.

Related Links:
Weisman Children's Rehabilitation Hospital
VGo Communications