Robot Autonomously Performs Needle-Free Vaccination

Dec, 2021 - By SMI

A robot, Cobi designed by a start-up company performed first autonomous intramuscular vaccination without a hypodermic needle creating a way for better patient care.

A Canadian startup Cobionix, founded at University of Waterloo, developed a robotic device known as Cobi, which is claimed to be the first ever robot to successfully deliver an intramuscular injection without using a hypodermic needle. The robot is said to be designed for autonomous needle-less vaccination for COVID-19 and other types of vaccinations. The multi-sensing robot can safely work with humans and it can also learn from them to become more intelligent over time.

The whole idea behind the vaccination process using robotic system consists pre-registering patients online and when they reach the vaccination location that is using Cobi robot, they will have to provide piece of identification to a camera, then as they enter the place, the sensors with 3D depth will detect their presence. After verifying the ID of patients, the robot will retrieve a vaccine vial from storage that is built for it. A LiDAR sensor installed on the robot hand creates 3D digital map of the body of patients, which is then studied by a software that is based on artificial intelligence in order to decide the ideal site for injection. The robot, Cobi uses third party needle-less technology and injects the vaccine with high-pressure fluid jet that can pass through a small opening of human-hair width.

According to Cobionix, the robotic system will take another two years to enter the healthcare market. The autonomous nature of Cobi is expected to reduce the need for infrastructure of vaccine clinics and enable vaccination of multiple people at once, as well as to reduce the healthcare cost as it could be used in remote areas having shortage of skilled clinicians.