In addition to assisting doctors with surgeries, robots are now also helping patients with their recoveries.

Breast cancer is the leading cause of cancer death among Taiwanese women. If the disease is detected early, there is a near-100% chance of full recovery. Unfortunately, many whose disease is discovered at a more advanced stage mistakenly believe that the removal of their tumor and the end of radiation therapy mean the end of their torment. They are unaware of how grueling their post-operative physical therapy can be.

Lymphedema (swelling of the lymph nodes) and muscular atrophy are among the side effects of a mastectomy. Both conditions leave patients unable to lift heavy objects, hang out the laundry, or even hold onto the handles in a subway car. In severe cases, patients need help brushing their hair or doing up the buttons on the back of their clothing, and must undergo long-term physical therapy.

Five years ago, Changhua's Show Chwan Hospital imported a Zeus Surgical System from the US. The system's robotic arms help surgeons perform keyhole abdominal surgery to minimize blood loss.

A very effective therapist

In May 2007, NTU's Departments of Psychology, and Computer Science and Information Engineering, working with a surgical team from National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH), completed development of a robot that assists post-operative patients with physical therapy.

The robot is simply a control platform, a mechanical arm, and a rotatable handgrip. The seated patient places her arm into a splint on the nine-jointed robotic arm, which then helps her raise and lower her weakened arm and rotate her wrist.

Most breast-cancer patients begin physical therapy a week after surgery, but sometimes even the gentlest pulling can cause pain at the site of the wound. Designers therefore mounted sensors on the robotic arm that measure the patient's pulse, temperature and chest expansion. If the patient feels pain, the arm moves more slowly and gently, giving her a break before resuming. When the session is complete, the robot displays a pretty animated rainbow on its monitor, encouraging the patient to keep up the good work.

According to Dr. Tai Hao-chih, a plastic surgeon at NTUH, Taiwan's National Health Insurance currently requires breast cancer patients to leave the hospital three days after their surgery. This results in patients checking out before they are familiar with their physical therapy regimen. Doctors recommend that patients do their exercises at home, but the exercises can be painful and many fail to do them. A month without exercise can cause the damaged area to tighten up, lengthening the time patients need to spend in physical therapy. Robots are helpful because they can be programmed with standardized motions. A patient who comes in for a physical therapy session can dive right in and do the exercises with the robot for half an hour. And, unlike a human physical therapist, the robot never gets bored with the repetitiveness of the routine.

Turning patients over

NTU expects to deploy the robot in the hospital by the end of the year. Is there any chance it could be mass-produced?

"If this kind of physical therapy were covered under National Health Insurance, every hospital would buy an appropriate number or let patients rent them for home use," says Fu Li-chen, a professor in NTU's Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering. But, according to Fu, producing the machine strictly for use by breast-cancer patients wouldn't be economic. He sees a future in which the robots are modified to provide physical therapy to a variety of patients, including victims of stroke, adhesive capsulitis ("frozen shoulder"), and Parkinson's disease.

In addition, the current generation of the robot is big--it weighs 60 kilograms--and clunky. The next generation's design will focus on making them lighter and more fluid in their movements. To put users more at their ease, that generation may even get a face that can smile and nod.

These medical robots have been developed at NTU under the National Science Council's three-year Human-Centric Robot-Assisted Recovery Environment program. Next year, Fu plans to develop a robot to help patients turn over in bed, sit up, and even get out of bed. "Many nurses have told us that they really don't like to move patients," explains Fu, "but you have to start getting abdominal surgery patients out of bed in the second week after surgery. That's a challenge for patients and physically difficult for nurses."

Robot assistants are already delivering meals and medical records in US hospitals. In the not-too-distant future, you're likely to see robots helping out nurses and family members by pushing wheelchair-bound patients around Taiwan's parks and hospitals, too.