Getting a massage from a robot could seem to be one thing out of a science fiction story, nevertheless it could possibly be a actuality in the not-too-distant future. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is trying into the chance of robotic massage as a solution for sufferers’ ache reduction and assuaging some staffing burdens.
Watch: Artificial intelligence massage therapy? Meet the robot being studied by Mayo Clinic
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This is EMMA. EMMA stands for knowledgeable manipulative massage automation. It’s a robot designed to present a therapeutic type of massage referred to as Tuina.
“Some people call it Chinese massage, but it’s actually a very comprehensive approach that is mostly used for muscle and muscle alignment type issues,” says Dr. Brent Bauer, a general internal medicine doctor at Mayo Clinic.
Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, is presently learning the use of Tuina for sufferers with continual nonspecific decrease again ache.
“If the study turns positive, and we say, ‘Yes, Tuina can be a very good treatment for many people with chronic low back pain.’ That’s half the population, we don’t have enough Tuina experts, to even meet half the needs,” says Dr. Bauer.
That’s the place EMMA or robotic massage might assist by supplementing a few of the work.
“We want the therapist to do much of the assessment and the positioning, but then the robot can take over some of the repetitive work.”
EMMA’s synthetic intelligence system makes use of sensors to measure muscle stiffness and calculate the acupoints in every person’s body. Mayo Clinic is hoping to steer the approach by conducting medical evaluations of EMMA.
“So many of our patients do not get full relief or full care if we just limited it to what we have in our conventional toolbox. This is where I love the ability to reach and say, ‘Well, we also have acupuncture. We have evidence-based massage. We have, perhaps, Tuina in the near future,'” says Dr. Bauer.
“It’s not replacing conventional medicine, it’s that idea of augmenting. We’re integrating the best of both worlds.”
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