2023-07-15 19:22:42
by Ruggiero Corcella
From the University of Genoa, I am experimenting with a humanoid model capable of relating differently to patients based on age, gender, physical and mental conditions
Can a social robot help people with spinal cord injuries (paraplegics and quadriplegics), especially in the acute phases in which they have to remain immobilized on their backs in bed even for long periods? A question that the study conducted in the Spinal Unit of the Santa Corona hospital in Pietra Ligure by researchers from Rice Lab – Dibris and Bioengineering Lab, University of Genoa, tried to answer, which probed the effect of the interaction also on healthcare workers. The values are decidedly positive, for the patients more than for the ward staff, however replies Antonio Sgorbissa, associate professor of the University of Genoa, Rice Lab.
Companion social robotics
Let’s go in order. Socially assistive robots (SARs) are used in a variety of fields, including healthcare, education and social work. In healthcare, SARs can be used to assist therapists or as companions for the elderly or people with cognitive impairment, helping to reduce loneliness and improve quality of life.
In the coming years there will be a decrease in human resources dedicated to assistance. At the same time, the number of elderly and frail people to be treated and rehabilitated will increase. To address this conceivable reality, the need to use assistive humanoid robots in hospital wards, says Antonino Massone, head of the Spinal Unit of the Santa Corona Hospital in Pietra Ligure.
Transcultural Nursing
In recent years, research in cross-cultural nursing and culturally competent health care, in particular, has gained attention for its potential to address cultural diversity in health care and improve people’s health and well-being. The EU-Japan project CARESSES1 (in which Dibris Genova also participated with the Pepper robot), for example, was a pioneering initiative to develop culturally competent socially assistive robots in the care of the elderly.
The study carried out in Pietra Ligure (which will be published in the proceedings of the Ro-Man International Conference on Robot-Human Interactive Communication, one of the two most important in the discipline at an international level, scheduled in South Korea in August) represents an evolution : from only culturally competent robots to those aware of diversity who have the ability to relate to people while also adapting to their age, gender, preferences and physical and mental conditions.
There is also a hand in ChatGPT4
The robot interacts with Spinal Unit patients chatting about the most varied topics, always taking into account the specificity of their situation. For example, instead of talking about “playing sports, playing football, going skiing”, the robot will talk about “watching sports on TV, being a fan of a football team, following skiing”, underlines Sgorbissa. The robots, in this case the Nao model, connect to a cloud system designed to consider these factors, thus adapting to the context and individuals they are interacting with.
Nao’s sentences are partly created by hand, to ensure that they are appropriate for the reference population, partly automatically with the now famous ChatGPT4 artificial intelligence chatbot, but giving precise instructions so that they reflect the necessary standards.
The trial in the hospital
The experiment was carried out with 10 patients (between 18 and 76 years old), and 10 among physiotherapists, nurses. Patients interacted with the robot for 30 minutes and then in another 2-hour session. The staff of the structure only for 30 minutes, explains Maura Casadio, associate professor of the University of Genoa, Bioengineering Lab. Patients and staff of the structure then filled out a questionnaire, which measures anxiety, positive attitude towards the robot, ease of use, the desire to use it in the future, perceived usefulness, enjoyment of using it, its social presence, and level of trust.
The data collected was analyzed to evaluate the acceptability and persistence of the system, beyond the initial novelty effect. Additionally, we investigated whether hospital staff were less prone to the system and expressed more concern than end users about using the robot, potentially hampering adoption of the system, adds Sgorbissa. The results, as we said at the beginning, bode well, with patients better prepared than those who treat them. From the data, we have the perception that the staff, despite the decidedly positive attitude, tend to worry more than the patients themselves. Additionally, anxiety decreases for patients at the second two-hour interaction, says the Rice Lab manager.
Social robot
Nao and his older brother Pepper feature prominently in RAISE, ecosystem of innovation on robotics and artificial intelligence conceived by IIT, CNR and the University of Genoa, which is its proponent. Funded by the Pnrr with 109 million euros, the project deals, among other issues, with ecosystems for rehabilitation. In this context, the Rice and Bioengineering laboratories are developing diversity-aware robots controlled not only with the voice, but with the residual functions of the body that people are still able to use, for example after a stroke or spinal cord injury.
We will thus have robots equipped with a robotic arm that will help people pick up an object from the ground or open a door, but to which people will “talk” and “give orders” by moving a shoulder, a finger, or a knee, using languages that are not minutes developed for the occasion and different for everyone, concludes Antonio Sgorbissa.
July 15, 2023 (change July 15, 2023 | 19:21)
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