“Orthobot, to your station!” The application of the remote presence robotic system in orthopaedic surgery in Ireland: a pilot study on patient and nursing staff satisfaction

Abstract

The remote presence robotic system (RPRS) enables an individual to “be in two places at once”. Its application includes various uses in medicine and surgery. However, its usefulness in the field of orthopaedic surgery has not been described. The objective of our pilot study was to determine patient and nursing staff satisfaction with the RPRS in an orthopaedic clinical setting in Ireland. We performed evening and weekend ward rounds to gain feedback and determine patient and nursing staff satisfaction with this innovative system. Questionnaires were handed to all patients and staff nurses involved. Both patients and nursing staff had very positive reactions to the RPRS in an orthopaedic postoperative care setting. Potential uses in orthopaedic surgery include clinical outreach in the setting of trauma, supervision in theatre, or watching theatre cases from outside the hospital, providing both patient and parent reassurance in paediatric orthopaedic cases, and, finally, in the setting of outpatient departments. Integration of the RPRS in an orthopaedic clinical setting has exciting and limitless potential. More so in this era in which it would allow trainees to benefit from teaching and training while also cutting down their in-house time and thus hospitals costs.