iRobot's (IRBT 3.13%) new medical robot is gaining traction in the marketplace.
On Monday, the maker of the Roomba robotic vacuum, along with med-tech partner InTouch Health, said that four Californian hospitals have begun integrating their RP-VITA medical robot into hospital operations:
- Dignity Health in Sacramento
- Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian in Orange County
- Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank,
- Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles
Also using RP-VITA are Ohio State Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, Ohio, St. Mary's Medical Center in Huntington, W.Va., and the Instituto de Salud del Estado de México in Toluca, Mexico.
iRobot CEO Colin Angle described RP-VITA as "a state-of-the-art, expandable robot that allows for several enabling telemedicine applications to improve the way health care is delivered." Consisting of a robotic body that travels around a hospital under its own power, navigating and avoiding obstacles automatically, and equipped with an Apple iPad interface, RP-VITA allows a physician to be in a patient's room virtually, "without the need for any onsite setup, coordination or assistance from nurses or technical staff."
iRobot shares were up 2.4% in early trading at $29.97.
