For more than a year now, the InTouch Health RP-7 robot has become as familiar a part of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles' intensive care landscape as IV poles and cardiac monitors. The duties of the RP-7 robot, a virtual doctor, are being overseen by the telemedicine team in the Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU) and the CardioThoracic Intensive Care Unit (CTICU).

"We are not looking to replace doctors with robots," Dr. Ashraf Abou-Zamzam, medical director of telemedicine for the Virtual PICU commented. "We're trying to enhance the delivery of care because there just are not enough intensivist care physicians to provide it." Dr. Abou-Zamzam views the Remote Presence technology as a milestone in medicine that will transform health care and improve the outcomes of countless children.

Pediatric Intensivist Sylvia del Castillo, M.D., was able to witness the value of the robot late one night when she got called about one of her patients. Within minutes, she was at the patients bedside, overseeing the code and monitoring the baby's progress. "It was very reassuring to have had the robot there at your fingertips in a critical situation when time is of the essence," Dr. del Castillo said.

To see the press release from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, click here.