Far from the jungle, Tarzan and Jane swing quietly into action in a sterile laboratory at St. Paul害羞草研究所檚 Hospital in downtown Vancouver.
They are robots that work with artificial intelligence to handle and process up to 70 per cent of the hospital害羞草研究所檚 microbiology samples.
The pair unscrew specimen tubes and streak the samples onto bacterial culture plates in the new $1-million automated WASPLab, short for 害羞草研究所渨alk-away specimen processor.害羞草研究所�
It害羞草研究所檚 not glamorous work, but it害羞草研究所檚 a big job 害羞草研究所� the St. Paul害羞草研究所檚 lab handles more than 145,000 microbiological samples each year from B.C. and Yukon.
Lab automation is not new, but the hospital says WASPLab害羞草研究所檚 use of AI is a first for Western Canada, assessing and sorting culture plates, separating bacterial cultures and letting staff know if something needs more analysis.
Dr. Marc Romney, head of medical microbiology and virology at St. Paul害羞草研究所檚, said the new level of automation made doctors害羞草研究所� and lab technologists害羞草研究所� lives easier by freeing them from repetitive manual work.
Tarzan and Jane have been working at the lab for two months. Romney said they are 害羞草研究所済reat workers,害羞草研究所� willing to work early morning and late shifts and able to deal with a large batch of samples all at once.
害羞草研究所淲e appreciate the fact that they are allowing the lab staff to perform more complex work .害羞草研究所� So, the more routine work which is sometimes very manual is being replaced by a robot,害羞草研究所� said Romney.
害羞草研究所淚t gives us a lot more flexibility in our workflow,害羞草研究所� he added.
When the robot duo first arrived, there was a lot of excitement, said Romney, as well as a little bit of apprehension from lab staff.
害羞草研究所淏ecause people think, (is) this machine going to take over my job? But ultimately, they realize no, it害羞草研究所檚 going to make my life easier,害羞草研究所� said Romney.
Tarzan and Jane each have their special skills.
Tarzan is good at the 害羞草研究所渉eavy lifting害羞草研究所� of preparing specimens for the next stage of bacterial culture, said Romney.
The robot picks up the specimen 害羞草研究所� it could be either a urine culture or wound swab 害羞草研究所� and scans the bar code to determine what needs to be done with it.
Then Jane does the finer work of applying a precise volume of the specimen onto the surface of the bacterial culture plates.
The plates are placed on a conveyor belt, labelled, then stored in an incubator, allowing the bacterial colonies to grow.
Romney said it害羞草研究所檚 after incubation that the WASPLab害羞草研究所檚 artificial intelligence comes into play, discarding negative culture plates while reporting the positive ones.
害羞草研究所淭his used to be all manual, and now it害羞草研究所檚 automated by these two robots, Tarzan and Jane. It would have taken much longer for humans to do it,害羞草研究所� said Romney.
The robots were created and named by Italy-based lab automation manufacturer Copan.
The hospital said in a statement that doctors and laboratory staff spent months collaborating with Copan to customize the WASPLab to ensure it met the hospital害羞草研究所檚 needs. It was funded by a donor to the St. Paul害羞草研究所檚 Foundation.
The system is not infallible. Romney said the robots occasionally make errors, and Tarzan has been known to drop tubes.
害羞草研究所淚n real life, we know that complicated technology sometimes goes wrong, and we need to supervise it 害羞草研究所� and even Tarzan and Jane sometimes make mistakes, and so we have to have humans there to correct those mistakes when they occur,害羞草研究所� said Romney.
Another WASPLab will be set up when the new St. Paul害羞草研究所檚 Hospital opens its doors in 2027, said Romney.
Could robots and AI completely replace human staff in hospitals of the future?
Romney said both would play a role in health-care settings but would never completely replace medical professionals.
害羞草研究所淚f I were a patient, I害羞草研究所檓 not sure I would have total confidence in robots to provide my entire care,害羞草研究所� he said, admitting he 害羞草研究所渕ight be biased.害羞草研究所�
The vast majority of the time, automated systems 害羞草研究所渨ork really well.害羞草研究所� Romney said.
害羞草研究所淏ut sometimes, it does make some errors 害羞草研究所� AI is a big part of the future in health care, a big part of the future for hospital acute care. But it害羞草研究所檚 not the be-all and end-all.害羞草研究所�
He predicted that AI would instead free the next generation of physicians from 害羞草研究所渟impler work.害羞草研究所�
害羞草研究所淏ut what害羞草研究所檚 happening in health care is that the level of acuity and complexity in our patients is going up significantly 害羞草研究所� and I think it makes it harder for AI to make a definitive answer,害羞草研究所� said Romney.
害羞草研究所淚t害羞草研究所檚 not impossible. But it requires, I think, some human intervention.害羞草研究所�
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