Doctors in Thailand use remote-controlled buggy to deliver medicine to COVID-19 patients
Doctors in Thailand use remote-controlled buggy to deliver medicine to COVID-19 patients

Doctors are using a remote control car to deliver medicine around hospital wards and limit their contact with COVID-19 patients.

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.

Footage shows the hospital's director introducing the remote controlled buggy equipped with a tablet and a medicine tray.

The tablet can also be used for patients to communicate with their families on video calls.

Doctor Chonlawit Laothong said the Robot Doctor 101 was built to help medics to communicate with COVID-19 patients without being in close contact.

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.

"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.

"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." The president of the provincial medical organization, Doctor Thongchai Serirat, added that the idea is open for other hospitals to replicate.

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.

"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.''