Robots and AI are a healthcare enablers, but face the risk of unintended damage. Yes, robots can make mistakes, but they need too in order to learn. As humans, our perception seems to be that robots are machines and therefor they must be perfect. But humans make mistakes too. That’s how we learn, and it’s how technology learns. This way of thinking is the biggest set back when it comes to robotic AI acceptance and adoption. The benefits of automation far outweigh the risk of potential damage and we need to shift our mindset to recognise this in order to reap the benefits automation offers.

Dr Anjali Jaiprakash is an advanced QLD research fellow working in the medical robotic area at the Australian Centre for Robotic Vision (Queensland University of Technology). She is a robo-biologist operating at the intersection of medicine, engineering and design, and brings a trans-disciplinary approach to developing medical devices that translate robotic vision into affordable systems to improve healthcare outcomes.

Anjali has experience in the fields of medical robotics, medical device, orthopaedics, trauma, bone and cartilage biology. Following her talk “The Robot Doctor Will See you Now” at Australian Healthcare Week 2019, she caught up with Australian Health Journal’s Anne Dao to present her insights into automated healthcare.

If you’re interested in learning more about the use of automation and robotics in patient experience, head down to Patient Experience stage at AHW2020 to hear from 24+ industry leaders. Download the agenda here.