Editing Robot (section)

=== Healthcare ===
Robots in healthcare have two main functions. Those which assist an individual, such as a sufferer of a disease like Multiple Sclerosis, and those which aid in the overall systems such as pharmacies and hospitals.

==== Home automation for the elderly and disabled ====
{{further|Disability robot}}
[[File:FRIEND-III klein.png|thumb|The Care-Providing Robot FRIEND]]

Robots used in [[Home automation for the elderly and disabled|home automation]] have developed over time from simple basic robotic assistants, such as the [[ST Robotics#History|Handy 1]],<ref name="CSUNCOD1">{{cite journal|last=Topping |first=Mike |author2=Smith, Jane |title=An Overview Of Handy 1, A Rehabilitation Robot For The Severely Disabled |journal=CSUN Center on Disabilities Conference Proceedings |year=1999 |volume=Proceedings |series=1999 |pages=Session 59 |url=http://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/1999/proceedings/session0059.htm |access-date=14 August 2010 |quote=The early version of the Handy 1 system consisted of a Cyber 310 robotic arm with five degrees of freedom plus a gripper. |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090805111627/https://www.csun.edu/cod/conf/1999/proceedings/session0059.htm |archive-date= 5 August 2009 }}</ref> through to semi-autonomous robots, such as [[Care-Providing Robot FRIEND|FRIEND]] which can assist the elderly and disabled with common tasks.

The population is [[gerontotechnology|aging]] in many countries, especially Japan, meaning that there are increasing numbers of elderly people to care for, but relatively fewer young people to care for them.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4012797.stm|work=BBC News|first=Christine|last=Jeavans|date=29 November 2004|title=Welcome to the ageing future|access-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016123948/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4012797.stm|archive-date=16 October 2007|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
| url        = http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm
| title      = Statistical Handbook of Japan: Chapter 2 Population
| publisher  = Statistics Bureau & Statistical Research and Training Institute
| access-date = 26 September 2007
| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130906015841/http://www.stat.go.jp/english/data/handbook/c02cont.htm
| archive-date = 6 September 2013
| url-status = dead
}}</ref> Humans make the best carers, but where they are unavailable, robots are gradually being introduced.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.e-health-insider.com/comment_and_analysis/250/robotic_future_of_patient_care|publisher=E-Health Insider|title=Robotic future of patient care|date=16 August 2007|access-date=26 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071121041811/http://www.e-health-insider.com/comment_and_analysis/250/robotic_future_of_patient_care|archive-date=21 November 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref>

FRIEND is a semi-autonomous robot designed to support [[disability|disabled]] and [[old age|elderly]] people in their daily life activities, like preparing and serving a meal. FRIEND make it possible for [[patients]] who are [[paraplegia|paraplegic]], have muscle diseases or serious [[paralysis]] (due to strokes etc.), to perform tasks without help from other people like therapists or nursing staff.

==== Pharmacies ====
{{Main|Pharmacy automation}}
{{More citations needed section|date=July 2009}}
Script Pro manufactures a robot designed to help pharmacies fill prescriptions that consist of oral solids or [[pharmaceutical drug|medications]] in pill form.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.drugtopics.com/view/future-pharmacy-automation|title=The Future of Pharmacy Automation|last=Gebhart|first=Fred|date=4 July 2019|journal=Drug Topics Journal|series=Drug Topics July 2019 |volume=163 |issue=7 |access-date=16 October 2022}}</ref>{{Better source needed|date=November 2019}} The pharmacist or [[pharmacy technician]] enters the prescription information into its information system. The system, upon determining whether or not the drug is in the robot, will send the information to the robot for filling. The robot has 3 different size vials to fill determined by the size of the pill. The robot technician, user, or pharmacist determines the needed size of the vial based on the tablet when the robot is stocked. Once the vial is filled it is brought up to a conveyor belt that delivers it to a holder that spins the vial and attaches the patient label. Afterwards it is set on another conveyor that delivers the patient's medication vial to a slot labeled with the patient's name on an LED read out. The pharmacist or technician then checks the contents of the vial to ensure it's the correct drug for the correct patient and then seals the vials and sends it out front to be picked up.

McKesson's Robot RX is another healthcare robotics product that helps pharmacies dispense thousands of medications daily with little or no errors.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/2009/10/08/robots-mckesson-business-healthcare-medical-tech-09-mckesson.html|title=R2D2 Has Your Pills|last=Dolan|first=Kerry A.|website=Forbes|access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref> The robot can be ten feet wide and thirty feet long and can hold hundreds of different kinds of medications and thousands of doses. The pharmacy saves many resources like staff members that are otherwise unavailable in a resource scarce industry. It uses an [[electromechanics|electromechanical]] head coupled with a [[pneumatics|pneumatic]] system to capture each dose and deliver it to either its stocked or dispensed location. The head moves along a single axis while it rotates 180 degrees to pull the medications. During this process it uses [[barcode]] technology to verify it's pulling the correct drug. It then delivers the drug to a patient specific bin on a conveyor belt. Once the bin is filled with all of the drugs that a particular patient needs and that the robot stocks, the bin is then released and returned out on the conveyor belt to a technician waiting to load it into a cart for delivery to the floor.