Doctors are using a remote control car to deliver medicine around hospital wards and limit their contact with COVID-19 patients.<br /><br />The first device, nicknamed "Doctor Robot 101," was rolled out at the Roi-Et Hospital in northeast Thailand on Wednesday morning (April 15) where coronavirus sufferers are being held.<br /><br />Footage shows the hospital's director introducing the remote controlled buggy equipped with a tablet and a medicine tray.<br /><br />The tablet can also be used for patients to communicate with their families on video calls.<br /><br />Doctor Chonlawit Laothong said the Robot Doctor 101 was built to help medics to communicate with COVID-19 patients without being in close contact.<br /><br />He said: "We installed the tablet and medicine tray on the remote control car so we can use it to visit the COVID-19 patients while we can stay in the other room.<br /><br />"The robot helps us to reduce the usage of the PPE suits and other equipment that needed to be used for treating the COVID-19 patient because they are now scarce.<br /><br />"It could also reduce the cost of the treatment as it only cost around 20,000THB (GBP 492) and can be used throughout the pandemic while the orthodox way with a doctor visiting in person could cost us 23,000THB (GBP 566) to treat only one patient."<br /><br />The president of the provincial medical organization, Doctor Thongchai Serirat, added that the idea is open for other hospitals to replicate.<br /><br />He said: "We have not registered for a patent for 'Doctor Robot 101as we want the other hospitals to have the right to make it freely.<br /><br />"We believed that this invention in safe for both the doctors and their staff and also for their family to reduce the risk of infection.''
