Japanese doctors unveil new dummy patient: the robot
Doctors and researchers in Japan have revealed a new dummy patient unlike no other; the new guinea pig is in fact a robot.
The robot, which is known as Hanako, was revealed yesterday. The life-like robot, which looks like a human being, is being used as a dummy patient for dental and orthodontic students to practice on. Hanako not only looks like a real human, she also dribbles, expresses emotions and rolls her eyes.
During the initial presentation, Hanako went from being happy and smiling to expression pain and discomfort when the student began to drill the artificial teeth in her mouth. She started to move her head and said ‘it hurts’. The student quickly reacted, moving the drill and preventing further pain. The student asked the dummy to lift her arm if she experienced any pain. To add to the effect, the robot is also able to move her eyes, jaw and tongue. The jaw of the robot also relaxes as the patient gets tired to reflect the natural fatigue experienced by real patients.
The robot was created by a collaborative team from Showa and Waseda Universities and a Southern Japanese manufacturer; the team was made up of researchers and pioneer in humanoid development, Atsuo Takanishi. The price of the robot has not been revealed.
Staff and students at Showa University are already benefitting from the introduction of the humanoid; over 80 students have already used the robot and many more are looking forward to getting their hands on her. Staff at the university said that using robots offered a number of advantages over traditional methods as it allows students to make numerous mistakes from which they can subsequently learn.
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