Robotics in Healthcare

MODERATION: Yeongmi Kim, MCI | Die Unternehmerische Hochschule ®

Speaker: Robert Riener, Gernot Kronreif

Talk 1: Robots for Rehabilitation and Assistance, Robert Riener, Sensory-Motor Systems Lab, ETH Zurich Robots for the upper and lower limbs can be very useful to restore movement abilities in two ways. First, they can promote neurorehabilitation as training devices after neurological injuries such as spinal cord injury (SCI), traumatic brain injury and stroke. Second, they can be used as assistive devices to support people with impairments or elders in daily life situations. In this talk I will present current engineering solutions and future trends of stationary gait and arm training robots as well as wearable exoskeleton devices that can be used for training and assistance in daily life.

Talk 2: Are we ready for autonomous surgical robots? Gernot Kronreif, ACMIT The increasing autonomy of surgical robots promises numerous benefits, such as greater precision and reliability compared to human-performed surgery. It potentially can help reduce surgeon workload, shorten operating times, and ultimately lead to better patient outcomes. However, autonomous robots also pose additional risks, including higher costs, technical malfunctions, cybersecurity vulnerabilities, and ethical concerns regarding liability and accountability. This presentation will introduce two projects in the field of medical robotics that address the issue of autonomy— specifically, the research challenges involved and the lessons learned from these projects.