Hospital Delirium, Pills and Foods Don’t Mix, and “Paro” the Robo-Seal
“Hospital delirium”: It affects about one-third of patients over 70, and a greater percentage of intensive-care or post-surgical patients. “It’s…more dangerous than a fall.”
Don’t eat chocolate if you are taking anti-depressants, stimulants, or sleeping pills. All sorts of foods pair badly with pills.
Scientists read your mind better than you can: MRI scan predictions of behavior 75% accurate; people’s predictions of their own behavior only 50% accurate.
A robot baby seal aims to comfort the elderly: It’s approved as a Class 2 medical device and it costs $6,000.
Photo credit: AIST, Japan
Like the seal. But what could it possibly do that would make it worth $6,000? Does it purr?
Even if the seal does purr and even if it costs $6,000 what’s unethical about that? Maybe the LT care industry is afraid robo seals will substitute for nurses.
Question: How much would a real baby seal cost? Maybe it’s cheaper.
Question #2: Does the robo seal still work after you club it to death?
About the pills: That’s pretty scary. Especially when you think about an elderly person who already has to remember to take 20 different meds. How can they possibly remember which foods not to avoid for every single medicine in their cabinet?
About the seal: I think what’s creepy about it is that it isn’t alive. The idea of holding an animal is that you provide comfort to it and it to you. The seal seems to be a one-sided arrangement. It’s a means of distracting a patient so that human staff can do other things.
It’s also a statement about life: Our actual experiences (aka strange attachments to stuffed animals) don’t matter as much as our perceived experiences (our attachment to an intelligent, caring, meaningful creature that just happens to be a machine).
Virginia, if your in a hospice, its a way to seal the deal.
When you have to buy a robo seal, you know the pup is up.
I suppose the seal is OK if you’re not in a furry.
I think a $6,000 seal that doesn’t AT LEAST do laundry and dishes is ridiculous. For the same investment and more TLC, you could get a puppy and an affectionate cat, AND send a bunch of seniors off for the weekend to visit kids & grandkids, AND throw a dance or party. Somehow, the idea of using a robot to solve caring social interaction issues saddens me greatly.
If you steal a seal does it squeal?
The seal epitomizes what’s wrong with health care. A rather simple toy, that should cost less than $100, is approved as a class 2 medical device and priced at $6,000. I doubt if any elderly patients or their families are rushing out to spend their own money on this robotic seal?
Devon, it just proves that in health care even the most simple devices and services can be made as expensive as possible.
The cost sucks, but I imagine that a big chunk is compliance costs. The article pointed out that dementia patients responded to it with a big plus they can’t accidentally kill it. The only missing feature I see is that it should call somebody if it hasn’t been touched in 24 hours.