Far from the jungle, Tarzan and Jane swing quietly into action in a sterile laboratory at St. Paul香蕉视频直播檚 Hospital in downtown Vancouver.
They are robots that work with artificial intelligence to handle and process up to 70 per cent of the hospital香蕉视频直播檚 microbiology samples.
The pair unscrew specimen tubes and streak the samples onto bacterial culture plates in the new $1-million automated WASPLab, short for 香蕉视频直播渨alk-away specimen processor.香蕉视频直播�
It香蕉视频直播檚 not glamorous work, but it香蕉视频直播檚 a big job 香蕉视频直播� the St. Paul香蕉视频直播檚 lab handles more than 145,000 microbiological samples each year from B.C. and Yukon.
Lab automation is not new, but the hospital says WASPLab香蕉视频直播檚 use of AI is a first for Western Canada, assessing and sorting culture plates, separating bacterial cultures and letting staff know if something needs more analysis.
Dr. Marc Romney, head of medical microbiology and virology at St. Paul香蕉视频直播檚, said the new level of automation made doctors香蕉视频直播� and lab technologists香蕉视频直播� lives easier by freeing them from repetitive manual work.
Tarzan and Jane have been working at the lab for two months. Romney said they are 香蕉视频直播済reat workers,香蕉视频直播� willing to work early morning and late shifts and able to deal with a large batch of samples all at once.
香蕉视频直播淲e appreciate the fact that they are allowing the lab staff to perform more complex work .香蕉视频直播� So, the more routine work which is sometimes very manual is being replaced by a robot,香蕉视频直播� said Romney.
香蕉视频直播淚t gives us a lot more flexibility in our workflow,香蕉视频直播� he added.
When the robot duo first arrived, there was a lot of excitement, said Romney, as well as a little bit of apprehension from lab staff.
香蕉视频直播淏ecause people think, (is) this machine going to take over my job? But ultimately, they realize no, it香蕉视频直播檚 going to make my life easier,香蕉视频直播� said Romney.
Tarzan and Jane each have their special skills.
Tarzan is good at the 香蕉视频直播渉eavy lifting香蕉视频直播� of preparing specimens for the next stage of bacterial culture, said Romney.
The robot picks up the specimen 香蕉视频直播� it could be either a urine culture or wound swab 香蕉视频直播� and scans the bar code to determine what needs to be done with it.
Then Jane does the finer work of applying a precise volume of the specimen onto the surface of the bacterial culture plates.
The plates are placed on a conveyor belt, labelled, then stored in an incubator, allowing the bacterial colonies to grow.
Romney said it香蕉视频直播檚 after incubation that the WASPLab香蕉视频直播檚 artificial intelligence comes into play, discarding negative culture plates while reporting the positive ones.
香蕉视频直播淭his used to be all manual, and now it香蕉视频直播檚 automated by these two robots, Tarzan and Jane. It would have taken much longer for humans to do it,香蕉视频直播� said Romney.
The robots were created and named by Italy-based lab automation manufacturer Copan.
The hospital said in a statement that doctors and laboratory staff spent months collaborating with Copan to customize the WASPLab to ensure it met the hospital香蕉视频直播檚 needs. It was funded by a donor to the St. Paul香蕉视频直播檚 Foundation.
The system is not infallible. Romney said the robots occasionally make errors, and Tarzan has been known to drop tubes.
香蕉视频直播淚n real life, we know that complicated technology sometimes goes wrong, and we need to supervise it 香蕉视频直播� and even Tarzan and Jane sometimes make mistakes, and so we have to have humans there to correct those mistakes when they occur,香蕉视频直播� said Romney.
Another WASPLab will be set up when the new St. Paul香蕉视频直播檚 Hospital opens its doors in 2027, said Romney.
Could robots and AI completely replace human staff in hospitals of the future?
Romney said both would play a role in health-care settings but would never completely replace medical professionals.
香蕉视频直播淚f I were a patient, I香蕉视频直播檓 not sure I would have total confidence in robots to provide my entire care,香蕉视频直播� he said, admitting he 香蕉视频直播渕ight be biased.香蕉视频直播�
The vast majority of the time, automated systems 香蕉视频直播渨ork really well.香蕉视频直播� Romney said.
香蕉视频直播淏ut sometimes, it does make some errors 香蕉视频直播� AI is a big part of the future in health care, a big part of the future for hospital acute care. But it香蕉视频直播檚 not the be-all and end-all.香蕉视频直播�
He predicted that AI would instead free the next generation of physicians from 香蕉视频直播渟impler work.香蕉视频直播�
香蕉视频直播淏ut what香蕉视频直播檚 happening in health care is that the level of acuity and complexity in our patients is going up significantly 香蕉视频直播� and I think it makes it harder for AI to make a definitive answer,香蕉视频直播� said Romney.
香蕉视频直播淚t香蕉视频直播檚 not impossible. But it requires, I think, some human intervention.香蕉视频直播�
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