Yuman, a deep-tech Danish startup, is developing healthcare-centered mobile robots, called Buddy, designed to assist care personnel with transport tasks in hospitals and nursing homes. The company was founded by Sara Lopez and Andrei Chirtoaca, driven by the need to integrate robotic technology into healthcare systems to address the global shortage of nurses. Research shows that nurses spend approximately 37% of their time on routine transport tasks, contributing to stress and inefficiency in healthcare delivery.
Throughout the Women TechEU project, Yuman aims to alleviate the workload of nurses by automating routine transport tasks, thereby enabling them to focus more on patient care. By developing intelligent, healthcare-centered mobile robots, the project aims to:
More time for patient care: Reduce the time nurses spend on transport tasks, allowing them to dedicate more time to patient care.
Enhance Nurse Working Conditions: Decrease the physical and mental strain on nurses by reducing their walking distances and interruptions during shifts.
Support Healthcare Systems: Provide a scalable solution to the global nurse shortage, anticipated to reach 2.3 million in the EU by 2030.
Commercialize Healthcare Robots: Mature the technology from TRL 4 to TRL 7 through rigorous testing in Danish hospitals, proving its commercial feasibility and product-market fit.
The expected impact of the project includes:
Increased Quality of Care: By automating routine tasks, nurses can focus more on patient-centered activities, improving the quality of care and patient satisfaction.
Reduced Nurse Burnout: By addressing the root causes of nurse stress and inefficiency, such as long walking distances and frequent interruptions, the project aims to enhance nurse retention and job satisfaction.
Improved Patient Outcomes: Hospitals with lower patient-to-nurse ratios experience better patient outcomes, including reduced mortality and fewer medication errors. Buddy will contribute to achieving these outcomes by allowing nurses to spend more time on direct patient care.
Economic Benefits: The introduction of Yuman robots is expected to create economic benefits by optimizing hospital operations and reducing costs associated with nurse burnout.
Technological Advancement: The project will advance the state-of-the-art in human-robot interaction and AI, setting a new standard for robotic assistance in healthcare environments.
The development of Buddy involves extensive user-centered design and testing processes, incorporating feedback from nurses to ensure the robots meet their needs without disrupting workflows. The project also involves understanding the socio-cultural context of healthcare settings to facilitate seamless integration and acceptance of robotic technology. This interdisciplinary approach ensures that the robots are not only technologically advanced but also socially and ethically acceptable.
