AUSTIN, TX, May 6, 2013 - Top academic medical centers and leading healthcare systems across North America are now introducing their patients to RP-VITATM, the first FDA-cleared telemedicine robot that combines state-of-the-art telecommunications and AutoDrive technology. InTouch Health, the leader in acute care telemedicine, today announced at the 18th Annual American Telemedicine Association’s International Conference the first hospitals to integrate this new telemedicine platform into their TeleStroke, TeleICU, TelePsych, and TelePediatric programs. RP-VITA, jointly developed by InTouch Health and iRobot Corp. (NASDAQ: IRBT), a leader in delivering robotic technology-based solutions, is a class apart from any other telemedicine device available, providing a new level of ease of use and independence that frees doctors and nurses to focus solely on patient care and to forget the technology.
One of the first major academic medical centers to introduce RP-VITA is the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, which was the initial TeleICU program involved in the clinical development of RP-VITA. “The robot is the next best thing to having a doctor come and talk to you,” shared Kevin Sittner, a former neuro-ICU patient at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. “You see each other’s face, and it feels like you’re actually talking to the doctor. It’s added comfort to me as a patient knowing I can get care whenever I need it.”
Paul Vespa, M.D., Director of Neurocritical Care, Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and Professor of Neurosurgery and Neurology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, describes his experience with RP-VITA: “During a stroke, the loss of a few minutes can mean the difference between preserving or losing brain function. The new technology enables me to concentrate on caring for my patient without being distracted by the need to set up and manage its technological features.”
From virtually anywhere in the world, RP-VITA allows a physician to remotely take command of the clinical environment without the need for any onsite setup, coordination or assistance from nurses or technical staff. Physicians can use an iPad® interface to send RP-VITA to the patient’s bedside, and the robot automatically navigates throughout a busy hospital environment, avoiding people and other obstacles along the way. RP-VITA is the first telemedicine platform to cause virtually no disruption to the existing procedures of hospital staff.
With RP-VITA, Providence Saint Joseph’s Medical Center is leading the first integrated TeleStroke network in Southern California by partnering with community hospitals throughout the San Fernando Valley. “What’s really unique about this program is that we’re looking at using the resources of various different hospitals to bring better services to the entire community,” commented Jason Greenspan, M.D., the project leader for the network.
The first academic medical centers and health systems to use RP-VITA are leaders in integrating telemedicine to improve patient care and optimize limited resources. The centers are located around the U.S. and in Mexico, representing a wide range of large, urban hospitals and regional and community medical centers. These centers include:
Medical Center:
Location:
Clinical Services:
Dignity Health
Sacramento, CA
TeleStroke, TeleICU, TelePsychiatry, Newborn Care, and TelePediatrics
Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian
Orange County, CA
TelePediatrics, TeleStroke, TeleICU, TelePsychiatry
Instituto de Salud del Estado de México
Mexico City, Mexico
TeleICU, Multispecialty
Ohio State Wexner Medical Center
Columbus, OH
TeleStroke, TeleICU
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center
Burbank, CA
TeleStroke
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center
Los Angeles, CA
TeleICU
St. Mary’s Medical Center
Huntington, WV
TeleStroke
“Hoag is proud to be the first hospital in Orange County enhancing patient care and safety with the new RP-VITA,” said Robert Braithwaite, President and CEO of Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian. “We have been using telemedicine robots for the delivery of pediatric care through our CHOC partnership with much success, and are expanding its use for additional services including stroke, psychiatric and critical care. This new device will enhance future care opportunities as we strive to provide our community the very best in patient care.”
“I believe telemedicine is now reaching an inflection point where its presence in healthcare will grow at an exponential pace because telemedicine has become easy to use,” said Yulun Wang, Ph.D., Chairman and CEO of InTouch Health. “The need to provide high-quality healthcare to everyone while reducing costs, has reached a crisis level. RP-VITA brings the right clinical expertise to the right place, at the right time to make medical decisions in a cost-effective manner. No other telemedicine technology is as powerful and enabling as RP-VITA.”
“RP-VITA is a state-of-the-art, expandable robot that allows for several enabling telemedicine applications to improve the way healthcare is delivered,” said Colin Angle, Chairman and CEO of iRobot. “I am excited about the role RP-VITA will play in hospitals both now and in the future. We are just now seeing the beginning of its potential benefits for patient care.”
About RP-VITA
RP-VITA is the world’s first acute care telemedicine robot with autonomous navigation technology to be an FDA-cleared Class II device. Major advancements include:
AutoDrive autonomous navigation capabilities and one-touch driving, freeing the physician from the technology to take command of clinical situations.
State-of-the-art sensor intelligence that gives RP-VITA the ability to “see” people and objects and avoid bumping into them just as people do.
Sophisticated software allows RP-VITA to create a map of an ICU or ED floor that is integrated with hospital records so it will know exactly where to go when a physician selects a patient on an iPad or PC interface.
Physicians can easily connect for patient consults in under a minute with access to clinical documentation, patient data and medical imaging.
About InTouch Health
InTouch Health is the leader in providing telemedicine solutions for high-acuity applications where doctors are required to take immediate clinical action. The InTouch Telemedicine System is the industry’s only fully integrated end-to-end solution encompassing clinical data management, medical imaging, 24/7 technical support, clinical consulting services and the SureConnect® cloud-based infrastructure. By removing time and distance barriers, this System effectively enables physicians to perform real-time consults with hospital patients through a host of purpose-built telemedicine devices. Deployed at over 700 hospitals on six continents, the InTouch Telemedicine System is now in use by 11% of all U.S. hospitals.
About iRobot
iRobot designs and builds robots that make a difference. The company’s home robots help people find smarter ways to clean, and its defense & security robots protect those in harm’s way. iRobot’s consumer and military robots feature iRobot Aware® robot intelligence systems, proprietary technology incorporating advanced concepts in navigation, mobility, manipulation and artificial intelligence. For more information about iRobot, please visit www.irobot.com.
Contact:
For iRobot:
Charlie Vaida
iRobot Corp.
cvaida@irobot.com
781-430-3182
For InTouch Health:
Betsy Merryman
Merryman Communications
betsy@merrymancommunications.com
310-560-8176
