Singapore – Imagine walking into a clinic and having your temperature, blood pressure, blood oxygen levels and body mass index taken within minutes. All without having to interact with other humans.
Sensors built into the RP Medbot – a “driverless medical booth” developed by local tech company Republic Power – can measure a patient’s height and weight and allow the machine to measure blood pressure.
This is all done without the need for additional personnel as the patient is guided through these processes via video prior to the telephone consultation session with the doctor.
Edward Boone, chief financial officer of Republic Power, said Wednesday that the RP Medbot booth will also include a digital stethoscope that can accurately measure heartbeats and detect conditions such as heart murmurs.
The company is seeking regulatory approval for the stethoscope.
These devices give RP Medbot an advantage over telemedicine services like WhiteCoat and Doctor Anywhere, he said, noting that patients often don’t have such devices at home.
Having patients perform these screening procedures themselves with the device also helps reduce wait times, Boone said, and such booths also help address staffing shortages in the medical sector. added.
He added that the cost of using such a booth is comparable to the cost of teleconsultation services.
The company aims to partner with multinational companies to set up up to 10 booths in areas such as Jurong and Tampines, adding that it is also considering introducing it in Malaysia and Indonesia.
RP Medbot is one of the exhibits at Medical Manufacturing Asia and Medical Fair Asia at the Sands Expo and Convention Center on Wednesday.
The two concurrent exhibitions will attract more than 700 exhibitors from 700 countries and territories, with 20 exhibitors in Singapore alone.
In a speech, Ellis Hong, president of the Singapore Precision Engineering Technology Association, described the republic as “the hottest destination for medical technology companies” in Asia. She noted the presence of her 60+ multinational companies in the sector.
This is due to the country’s “strong design and engineering capabilities,” as well as strong manufacturing capabilities, she said.
Minister of Trade and Industry Kang Kim Yong attended the opening ceremonies of the two exhibitions.
