A robot named Mr. Rounder enables doctors to visit their patients in the hospital from wherever they are in the world. Doctors can log on to the robot from their laptops and drive it around the hospital using a joystick and a wireless Internet connection. Built-in videoconferencing technology allows patients to converse with their physicians through the robot, making them feel as if the doctors are right in the room.
Mr. Rounder is made by InTouch Health in Santa Barbara, Calif. Pictured on Mr. Rounder’s screen is Dr. Gerard A. Burns, the hospital’s director of medical informatics, who’s leading Hackensack’s march towards a fully digital future.