The Indian healthcare sector has made significant advancements in the way healthcare is delivered in the country. Growing technological requirements in the healthcare sector have given birth to many innovations to help doctors and hospitals respond to the evolving challenges in the sector.
In recent years, AI (artificial intelligence) enabled data analytics and computer vision have transformed robotics, broadening capabilities into many other areas of healthcare.
Today, robots are extensively used in surgeries, for disinfection, and to streamline supply delivery, freeing up time for providers to engage with patients.
Many new-age startups have also joined the bandwagon to provide futuristic services to assist hospitals, doctors, and nurses to improvise the healthcare sector.
Here are some robotics startups that are working in the healthcare space to provide improved services.
Aether Biomedical
Founded in 2016 by Dhruv Agarwal and Faith Jiwakhan, New Delhi-based is a medical robotics startup that focuses on developing rehabilitation devices on biosignal processing.
The startup has developed a bionic arm named Zeus, which is a silicon glove with 12 grip modes where the fingers are stalled individually that enables the patient to grasp and lift objects.
These movements are based on the presence of EMG electrodes, which provide wireless gain adjustment through signal processing. The startup is aiming to make a dent in the universe of medical technology innovation.
The startup claims that its products are designed to exceed global standards, engineered with precision, and fundamentally driven by human need.
It also claims Zeus is a low-cost, high-efficacy product aiming to create data-driven rehabilitation accessible.
In June 2020, Aether Biomedical raised an undisclosed amount of seed funding from Chiratae Ventures for the commercialisation of its product.
Alpha Care
Bengaluru-based was founded in 2017 by Pranay Agarwal, Kritarth Mohan, Saakshi Agarwal, and Daniel D’Souza. It is an in-patient service system that streamlines operational processes and enables standardisation of services.
Alpha Care, the team with a hospital team.
The startup aims to redefine care with an operational tool that provides real-time tracking of in-patient requests.
Its in-patient service management system focuses on improving the overall experience and optimising nursing workload by segregating patient requests at source and routing them to the concerned department directly.
The startup claims that it has reduced requests that were directed to nurses by 40 percent, which also saves nursing hours and reduces operational costs.
Sakar Robotics
Karan Patil founded in 2021. The Pune-based startup is building healthcare robots to assist doctors and nurses across the globe.
The startup operates on a B2B2C and B2C model, and mostly targets hospitals and private clinics to help with instant health diagnostics. It also helps improve customer satisfaction and experience at lodgings by providing contactless dining experience.
Senior citizens and dependent people can make use of these robots when in need and need not depend on other people.
Jetbrain Robotics
Founded in 2018 by Ajay Vishnu, Gurugram-based offers end-to-end solutions for hospitals to provide enhanced patient care using autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) that help with nursing and managing internal logistics, and also enabling hospital staff to focus on their respective jobs.
The startup aims to reduce the operating budget of hospitals on solving problems due to internal logistics.
Jetbrain focuses on project management knowledge about supply chains and management.
The startup has partnered with KONE elevators to allow their robots to move across floors of hospitals autonomously. They target all hospitals, specifically multi speciality hospitals with high volumes of material transport in Tier I and Tier II, Asia-Pacific, and globally.
Invento Robotics
Founded by Balaji Viswanathan, Mahalakshmi Radhakrushnan, and Bharath Kumar in 2016, Bengaluru-based Invento Robotics is a full-stack robotics startup that offers a range of services that help automate customer engagement in banks, restaurants, airports, and other places.
Invento C-Astra. Credit: Invento Robotics
Its first humanoid robot, Mitra, uses robotics and AI (artificial intelligence) to improve customer engagement and sales.
In 2021, the startup launched a semi-automatic robot that uses advanced thermal imaging, facial recognition technology, and natural language processing to screen people for coronavirus. It can also disinfect surfaces in hospitals and hotels with UV rays.
In April this year, the startup launched Invento C-Astra, a robot that helps in screening patients and to disinfect areas. It uses thermal cameras to record the body temperature of visitors from a distance and uses its conversation skills to get information from them.
In June 2021, Invento Robotics raised an undisclosed amount of funding from MSPL Limited, Chiripal Group, and angel investors to scale its production and get new certification to meet the global standards in manufacturing robots.
