Robots in the Operating Room: Healthcare Leads Hiring for Robotics Skills

New York, NY – July 16, 2013. During June 2013, more than 3,400 jobs for healthcare professionals in the United States included requirements for robotics skills and experience, according to WANTED Analytics™ (www.wantedanalytics.com), the leading source of real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace. As more surgeries and medical procedures utilize robotic tools, demand in healthcare now outpaces all other fields that require this skill set, including technology, production, and engineering. The number of healthcare related jobs requiring robotics grew 32% year-over-year when compared to June of 2012 and 375% in the past 4 years.

Source: WANTED Analytics

Within healthcare, the most commonly advertised job titles that include robotics requirements are Physician Assistant, Director of Surgical Services, Surgical Technician, Surgical Technologist, and Research Associate.

The metropolitan areas with the most available jobs for robotic skilled healthcare professionals in June were San Diego (CA), Sacramento (CA), Spokane (WA), New York (NY), and Tampa (FL). While employers in San Diego posted the most job ads in June, hiring demand in Tampa grew the most of these five locations. Here, the number of available job ads increased 131% compared to June of 2012. New York was the only location on this list that experienced a year-over-year decline in demand, with 43% fewer ads in 2013 than in 2012.

With demand for healthcare professionals with robotics qualifications growing steadily, it is likely to be moderately difficult to source potential candidates. As demand continues, conditions and the level of difficulty may increase. According to the Hiring Scale™, this occupation scores a 41 on average across the United States. (The Hiring Scale ranges from 1 to 99, with 99 representing the most difficult conditions.) On average, these jobs remain advertised online for more than 7 weeks, meaning that employers are likely to experience a long time-to-fill. Local conditions will vary widely, depending on regional demand and talent supply. Currently, some of the metro areas that are likely to experience the most difficulties are Anchorage (AK), Norwich (CT), and Austin (TX). Not only do these 3 locations all score significantly higher than average on the Hiring Scale, but job ads also tend to remain open longer. On average, job ads in these 3 cities stay online for 8.5 weeks.

Source: WANTED Analytics

In comparison, some of the best areas to recruit this talent are Durham-Chapel Hill (NC), New York (NY), and St. Louis (MO). In these areas, hiring demand remains low, yet there are pools of qualified potential candidates. Durham-Chapel Hill presents the least difficulties, scoring a 15 on the Hiring Scale, far below the national average of 41.

Source: WANTED Analytics

The Hiring Scale measures conditions in local job markets by comparing hiring demand and labor supply. The Hiring Scale is part of the WANTED Analytics platform that offers business intelligence for the talent marketplace.

To see additional charts and detail, please visit www.wantedanalytics.com/insight.

A free trial of WANTED Analytics is available at www.wantedanalytics.com/tryit.

About WANTED Analytics™

WANTED Analytics™ helps recruiting organizations make better decisions faster with real-time business intelligence on jobs, employers, and talent. Analytics brings together, for the first time, years of hiring demand and talent supply data to create a true talent intelligence platform for hard-to-fill positions.

Clients in the staffing, HR, RPO, media, and government sectors use WANTED Analytics™ to find sales leads, analyze employment trends, gather competitive intelligence, forecast economic conditions, and source hard-to-fill positions.

About WANTED Technologies Corporation

WANTED Technologies (TSX-V:WAN) provides real-time business intelligence for the talent marketplace. Founded in 1999, the company’s headquarters are in Quebec City, Canada, and it maintains a US-based subsidiary with primary offices in New York City. WANTED began collecting detailed Hiring Demand data in June 2005, and currently maintains a database of more than 900 million unique job listings. For more information or to sample WANTED’s services, visit www.wantedanalytics.com.

WANTED is also the exclusive data provider for The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series®, the monthly economic indicator of Hiring Demand in the United States.

The TSX Venture Exchange does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Any statement that appears prospective shall not be interpreted as such.

Source: WANTED Technologies

Robotic Sensor. Environmental Sample Processor (ESP). Water quality robot

Photo credit: Carina Bolanos Lewen. NWFSC.

Summers in Puget Sound routinely see blooms of harmful algae or pathogens that threaten shellfish and finfish farms and water-based recreation. What if there was a tool that could provide an early warning of harmful algae and pathogens in Puget Sound? This summer, NWFSC scientists and partners are deploying a state-of-the-art robotic sensing unit in Puget Sound to do just that.

The robotic sensor, called the Environmental Sample Processor (ESP), uses molecular probes to detect microorganisms in water by their DNA, and can provide scientists with near real-time information on our water quality before shellfish and fish are contaminated. Decision-makers like public health officials and shellfish growers can then use this data to help improve the safety of our local seafood, help protect the economic stability of waterfront businesses and the aquaculture industry, and alert water enthusiasts.

Scientists deployed the ESP in Lummi Bay on June 20 and in Samish Bay on July 16 to detect the presence of harmful algae species Heterosigma akashiwo, Pseudo-nitzschia australis, and Alexandrium. At the Samish Bay site, scientists are also targeting the bacterial pathogen Vibrio parahaemolyticus as well as indicators of human and bovine fecal contamination. Live feeds of the data are already available for Lummi Bay (see Quick Links) and will soon be available for Samish Bay.

Water quality and shellfish

The shellfish in Samish Bay, like in many basins of Puget Sound and other waterways globally, are threatened by pollution from many sources. Picture a large sink with Samish Bay as the drain. Any pollutants in the entire watershed can impact water quality in Samish Bay, including runoff from streets, agricultural practices, forest practices, animals in streams (wild and domestic), failing septic systems, and erosion. Boats without holding tanks for their sewage and other recreational users improperly disposing of their waste also impact the bay’s water quality.

Pacific oysters and manila clams are cultured extensively in Samish Bay. These species as well as geoduck, horseclams, butter clams, cockles, and native littleneck clams are harvested recreationally. These shellfish are all filter feeders, feeding on microscopic algae (plankton) in the water.

Seafood safety

Naturally occurring harmful algae and bacteria can sometimes “bloom” in coastal waters, growing rapidly and often increasing in concentration. These harmful microorganisms — and the toxins that they produce — become concentrated in shellfish from the large volumes of water that they filter when feeding. Eating the contaminated shellfish can make us very sick.

To protect people from getting sick, shellfish are routinely monitored for harmful algal toxins and bacteria. Shellfish are not commercially harvested or sold when regulatory thresholds are exceeded. However, sometimes blooms can occur with little or no warning resulting in costly recalls of contaminated product from the market.

Value of the ESP’s early warning

Every year, harmful algae and bacteria cause millions of dollars in damages to commercial fisheries and aquaculture, public health, and the recreational and tourism industries around the nation. Yet, we do not have reliable ways to predict when they will occur. Early warning of these harmful blooms can reduce consumer and economic risks by triggering increased site surveillance and allowing for mitigation strategies to be put into place.

Because the ESP can detect harmful algae and bacteria in the water in near real-time, it can provide early warning of developing blooms before they contaminate aquatic life. This information can help shellfish growers and health managers make decisions about harvesting and monitoring strategies to ensure that the seafood we eat are safe and potentially saving the aquaculture industry and other businesses — and the public — millions of dollars annually.

The ESP is the first commercially available robotic sensor of its kind. This project is a collaboration of NOAA‘s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Center for Ocean Solutions, University of British Columbia, Northwest Indian College, Washington State Department of Health, Taylor Shellfish Farms, Lummi Nation’s Natural Resources Department and Spyglass.

Quick links

• ESP Live Data from Samish Bay
•  ESP Video
• More about the ESP technology
• ESP Live Data from Lummi Bay

Oncology Sterile Preparations. Health Robotics. I.V.STATION ONCO

i.v.STATION® ONCO, of Health Robotics, represents a complementary offering to other Health Robotics’ solutions for sterile compounding of Intravenous Cancer Therapy: CytoCare and i.v.SOFT Assist. Engineered as an evolution and blending of some of the fully-tested and globally-embraced technologies embedded within i.v.STATION and CytoCare, i.v.STATION ONCO automatically compounds, caps, and labels commercially-available soft plastic bags and syringes from 8 different brands and 10 different sizes within an ISO-5 environment on negative pressure. i.v.STATION ONCO however does not support sterile compounding with ampoules, plastic or glass bottles, CSTDs, unusually small vials, and elastomeric infusors, which Health Robotics’ customers will need to continue to compound with market-leading CytoCare and/or i.v.SOFT Assist solutions.

 

i.v.STATION ONCO’s physical characteristics are as follows: dimensions [2 meters tall, 1 meter in depth, and 1.5 meters wide], weight 410 kg [904 lbs], power [220V or 110V], Class H14 HEPA filters.

 

 

Cleaning of Healthcare. Loyola University Health System. Infectious Disease

Hospitals are synonymous with cleanliness and now Loyola University Health System is the first academic medical center in Illinois to take disinfection to futuristic levels. Nicknamed “Ralph” by the housekeeping staff at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital and “little Joe” at Loyola University Medical Center, 3-foot upright cylindrical robots provide the finishing touches to room sanitation. A rotating telescopic head emits cidal ultraviolet (UV) rays for 15 minutes in closed, unoccupied rooms to systematically kill germs dead.

Germ-fighting robots that pulse UV light are used by Loyola University Health System to fight infectious disease.

“Loyola is a world leader in infection control and now the addition of automated room disinfection reinforces our ongoing commitment to patient safety,” says Jorge Parada, MD, MPH, FACP, FIDSA, medical director, Infection Control Program, Loyola University Health System. “Loyola is doing everything humanly possible to control disease and that includes robotics.”

According to studies, the disinfection robots eliminate Clostridium difficile (C. diff) in less than 4 minutes and Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) in less than 2 minutes. “The robots are used for further disinfection in the operating suites and patient rooms including isolation, burn and transplant,” says

Alex Tomich, DNP, RN, CIC, manager, infection prevention and control at Loyola. “Loyola takes very seriously its responsibility to protect patients, visitors and our hospital staff from infections and we are early adopters of proven technology as well as best practices.”

The hospital housekeeping staff cleans the rooms and then uses the robots for additional sterilization. The pulsed UV light destroys viruses, bacteria and bacterial spores without human contact or use of chemicals.

Hospital infections are linked to approximately 100,000 deaths each year and add as much as $30 billion a year in medical costs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Loyola is a crusader in the war on infectious disease. Loyola was the first university medical center to screen all hospital patients for MRSA, is in its fifth year of mandatory flu vaccination for employees, students, volunteers and vendors and uses advanced laboratory technology to accurately identify 17 viral and 3 bacterial pathogens in about 60 minutes. Loyola is no stranger to robotics and currently uses telemedicine robots for surgery and in the emergency department to diagnose stroke patients.:

Source:  Loyola Fights Infectious Disease The Modern Way – With Robots

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RxMedic’s RM64: The fastest robotic dispensing solution on the market

Imagine easily filling as many as five prescriptions per minute. That’s fast. That’s RxMedic’s new RM64 — the fastest robotic dispensing solution on the market. RxMedic technology means that RM64 can count any pill size or shape and utilizes a unique photo verification system.

RxMedic design means that operation is easy and reliable — it takes only three keystrokes to check out a prescription, and RM64 interfaces with any pharmacy management system. Speed plus accuracy equals efficiency, giving you and your staff more time to focus on what’s important: your patients.

See the future of pharmacy automation and what it can do for you at http://www.rxmedic.com or call 800.882.3819

Source: TheRxMedic

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Pharmacy Automation.Health Robotics. CYTOCARE

CYTOCARE®,of  Health Robotics The Automated Solution for Compounding Hazardous sterile IV preparations.   In the critical area of cancer care, healthcare providers are experiencing growing pressure to improve patients safety and decrease operator’s risk while at the same time working more efficiently and containing costs.

The higher incidence rate of cancer and the growing complexity of treatment protocols, combined with a shortage of qualified staff, results in an increasing workload which directly affects the quality of patient services. Some of the most serious issues with cancer care include:

+ Patient Safety
+ Operational Safety
+ Suboptimal Allocation of Resources

CytoCare® directly addresses these challenges, as it the complex and dangerous tasks associated with CSP (Compounded Sterile Preparations), increasing quality and overall competitiveness.

+ RELIABILITY – With its comprehensive control system, CytoCare doublechecks each preparation and eliminates risks related to drug exchange or unacceptable dosage errors.

+ STERILITY – Through sophisticated airflow engineering, CytoCare maintains an ISO Class 5 clean room environment in its compounding area, protecting the preparation from chemical and biological contamination. Integrated UV lights sterilize the working surfaces overnight.

+ ACCURACY – CytoCare guarantees a dosage accuracy within 95%+. The therapeutic window of medications can be optimally used, providing your patients with the most effective treatment.

+ TRACEABILITY – Through state-of-the-art Information Technology every step from IV prescription to IV administration can be tracked in time and associated to an authorized user. Comprehensive documentation and audit trails are created automatically and give you total control of the overall process.

+ OPERATIONAL SAFETY – Scientific studies have shown that CytoCare prevents the risk of exposure to hazardous medications, needle-stick injuries and repetitive strain injury. CytoCare offers your staff a safe and motivating working environment.

+ USABILITY – With its intuitive and userfriendly interface, CytoCare decreases your dependence on scarce pharmacy staff and gives you total control over the entire compounding process.

+ FLEXIBILITY – CytoCare can handle a wide spectrum of different medications and medical devices, offering you the flexibility you need with the newest oncology protocols.

SUPPORTED PRODUCTS

Plastic syringes	3 ml, 10 ml, 60 ml
Plastic bags	50 to 1000 ml
Ecoflac® plus	50 to 1000 ml
Selected elastomeric infusors
Drug vials	up to 100 ml

+ ECONOMY – CytoCare is the solution for an optimized employment of your resources.

Through its intelligent planning software, CytoCare helps you optimize medication usage and reduce waste of medications.

Featuring a continuous production flow, CytoCare allows you to improve your throughput, respecting quality standards and safety regulations.

+ QUALITY – With CytoCare you can streamline your workflow by efficiently planning CSP schedules and coordinating your resources. CytoCare is your best solution to increase productivity while maintaining highest levels of quality.

Emergency. Remote internal imaging robot

Remote internal imaging robot helps doctors in emergency situations. This remote medical care robot for use in emergency situations, is under development by a research group at Waseda University, led by Dr. Hiroyasu Iwata.

“If a person receives an impact in an accident, there is a possibility that they could have internal bleeding. In emergency rooms, there’s a diagnostic method called FAST, using ultrasound imaging to check for internal bleeding. But that can’t be done until the patient reaches the hospital. So our idea is that this robot can be put on the patient in an ambulance, and while on the way to the hospital, it can be controlled by a doctor in a remote location. As there is ultrasound probe attached, this robot can be used to check for internal bleeding.”

This robot, which weighs 2.2 kg, can be attached to the chest area using a belt, and can be used anywhere as long as there is a network connection. So it could also be used in the home or remote areas.

To enable a physician at a remote location to operate the robot intuitively, it’s controlled using an iPhone, with the robot’s rotation and the ultrasound probe angle controlled by touch.

“The ultrasound probe is attached here, and as it moves, the ultrasound image appears like this. If there’s bleeding, that appears as black shadows like this. If the patient has internal bleeding, they’re in danger unless they get to a hospital. This system lets the physician know that.”

“One point about this robot is, you can change the probe angle freely, keeping the probe in contact with the body. So, even if the patient is moved, the robot moves with them. This means images can continually be sent to the physician at a remote location.”

“Before this robot can be used in emergency care, legal barriers must be overcome. So, what we’d like to do initially is use it for pregnancy check-ups. By doing that, if we make one more prototype version, we think the robot will become practical. In that case, we think this system could become practical within three years.”

• Waseda University
• Techno-Transfer in Kawasaki 2013

Source: Diginfonews and Remote internal imaging robot helps doctors in emergency situations

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