Public invited to expert panel on robotics in healthcare

Public invited to expert panel on robotics in healthcare

28 October 2016

From bionic hearing to robotic surgery, the use of robotics in healthcare will be discussed at a free public panel discussion in Auckland on Tuesday.

The panel includes visiting speaker, Dr Catherine Mohr, who is a New Zealander now based in the USA and a leading international expert on ‘intuitive surgery’ in health robotics.

Dr Mohr is a Consulting Assistant Professor in the Department of Surgery at the Stanford School of Medicine and on the Medicine and Robotics Faculty of Singularity University.
She was involved in the development of the Da Vinci robots used worldwide for minimally invasive surgery.

Robotics is one of the fastest growing technology areas today and the Medtech talk, “Robotics in Healthcare” will discuss the application of robotics in surgery, rehabilitation and community care.

It is one of three free public talks held by the Medtech Outreach Project, organisers of the SILO 6 Medtech Exhibition (open until November 13 at Silo Park in the Wynyard Quarter). The talks will be held at the nearby GRID-AKL venue at 101 Pakenham St and are free entry from Monday afternoon (see details at end).

Another robotics panel speaker, Dr Bruce MacDonald, leads the Robotics Laboratory at the University of Auckland and is well known for his work on designing intelligent health robots that improve the quality of people's lives, particularly in caring for the elderly.
His health robots even tell jokes alongside performing more important tasks like medication reminders.

The panel discussion will also hear from Professor Rob Shepherd, Director of The Bionics Institute and Head of the Medical Bionics Department at the University of Melbourne. He was instrumental in the development and clinical translation of Cochlear’s bionic ear and his team is now working on a bionic eye as part of an Australia-wide collaboration – Bionic Vision Australia.

The founder of Rex Bionics, Richard Little will talk about the company’s robotic legs that assist people with mobility impairments and rehabilitation therapy. Richard is also looking at robotic technology that can be implemented at home for stroke rehabilitation.

For the full programme of Medtech Project talks see these links:

Mon 31 Oct 5pm-7pm Technology Innovation in Health https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/medtalk-technology-innovation-in-health-tickets-28750425296

Wed 2 Nov 6pm-8pm Robotics in Healthcare
https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/robotics-in-healthcare-tickets-28669170260

Thurs 3 Nov 6pm-8pm Women’s Wellness Evening https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/womens-wellness-evening-tickets-28669929531?aff=es2

ENDS

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