About this Research Topic
In recent years, interactive robotics is pushing to alter the landscape of healthcare, offering novel opportunities to improve medical practices and patient care. This transformative technology has been piloted across various domains, including treatment, rehabilitation, coaching, social assistance, and caregiving, potentially impacting how healthcare services are delivered. Innovative applications range from interactive surgical robots that enhance precision in operations to empathetic healthcare assistants that provide support and companionship to patients. These advancements not only aim to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of healthcare services but also strive to make them more personalized and accessible. As this field continues to evolve, it presents a crucial area of research to explore the full spectrum of its capabilities and address the inherent challenges and ethical considerations involved in its implementation.
The modern healthcare sector is grappling with significant challenges exacerbated by demographic changes and deteriorating working conditions for healthcare professionals. As the global population ages, the demand for continuous and personalized healthcare services is dramatically increasing, placing an unsustainable burden on already strained healthcare systems and workers. These issues are compounded by the slow transfer of innovative research findings and prototypes, particularly in the domain of interactive robotics, into practical, real-world applications. This Research Topic aims to address these pressing issues by focusing on the potential of adaptive, interactive robotics to revolutionize healthcare practices and patient care. Recent advances in this field have shown that such technologies can not only automate routine tasks but also enhance the interaction between patients and healthcare systems, thereby improving job satisfaction and efficiency for healthcare workers. Key to this transformation is the effective adaptation and integration of cutting-edge research into daily healthcare operations, ensuring that these technological solutions are accessible and practical. By fostering closer collaboration between researchers and healthcare practitioners, we can accelerate the translation of theoretical innovations into impactful healthcare solutions, ultimately improving patient care and worker conditions.
Key themes to be explored include cutting-edge technologies in interactive in healthcare, such as advanced machine learning, natural language processing, affective computing, intelligent user interfaces, and robot motion. These technologies are examined through user studies, field experiments, design methodologies, and translational research. Submissions should highlight the transformative potential of these technologies in fostering personalized care, enhancing patient engagement, and optimizing treatment outcomes. Contributions should also address ethical aspects, privacy safeguards, and regulatory frameworks critical for deploying interactive tools in healthcare settings. We invite the following types of manuscripts: original research, systematic review, review, methods, policy and practice reviews, clinical trial, perspective, case report, brief research report, opinion, technology, and code.
Potential topics:
• Assistive Robotics for Disabilities and Care
• Rehabilitation and Surgical Robotics
• Human-Robot Interaction in Clinical Settings
• Robots for Mental Health Support
• Telepresence Robots for Remote Healthcare
• Ethical and Social Implications
• Robot Learning in Healthcare
• Case Studies and Application-focused Design Approaches
• Interactive Robots for Inclusive Participation
• Novel Interfaces for Diverse Users
• Co-design and Co-development in Interactive Systems for Healthcare
• Research on System Transfer
The modern healthcare sector is grappling with significant challenges exacerbated by demographic changes and deteriorating working conditions for healthcare professionals. As the global population ages, the demand for continuous and personalized healthcare services is dramatically increasing, placing an unsustainable burden on already strained healthcare systems and workers. These issues are compounded by the slow transfer of innovative research findings and prototypes, particularly in the domain of interactive robotics, into practical, real-world applications. This Research Topic aims to address these pressing issues by focusing on the potential of adaptive, interactive robotics to revolutionize healthcare practices and patient care. Recent advances in this field have shown that such technologies can not only automate routine tasks but also enhance the interaction between patients and healthcare systems, thereby improving job satisfaction and efficiency for healthcare workers. Key to this transformation is the effective adaptation and integration of cutting-edge research into daily healthcare operations, ensuring that these technological solutions are accessible and practical. By fostering closer collaboration between researchers and healthcare practitioners, we can accelerate the translation of theoretical innovations into impactful healthcare solutions, ultimately improving patient care and worker conditions.
Key themes to be explored include cutting-edge technologies in interactive in healthcare, such as advanced machine learning, natural language processing, affective computing, intelligent user interfaces, and robot motion. These technologies are examined through user studies, field experiments, design methodologies, and translational research. Submissions should highlight the transformative potential of these technologies in fostering personalized care, enhancing patient engagement, and optimizing treatment outcomes. Contributions should also address ethical aspects, privacy safeguards, and regulatory frameworks critical for deploying interactive tools in healthcare settings. We invite the following types of manuscripts: original research, systematic review, review, methods, policy and practice reviews, clinical trial, perspective, case report, brief research report, opinion, technology, and code.
Potential topics:
• Assistive Robotics for Disabilities and Care
• Rehabilitation and Surgical Robotics
• Human-Robot Interaction in Clinical Settings
• Robots for Mental Health Support
• Telepresence Robots for Remote Healthcare
• Ethical and Social Implications
• Robot Learning in Healthcare
• Case Studies and Application-focused Design Approaches
• Interactive Robots for Inclusive Participation
• Novel Interfaces for Diverse Users
• Co-design and Co-development in Interactive Systems for Healthcare
• Research on System Transfer
Keywords: Socially Assistive Robotics, Inclusive AI, Human-Robot Interaction, Robot Surgery, Telepresence, Participation, Transfer
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.
