AN eight-day-old baby in a hospital bed is tended to by a robot remotely controlled by a doctor, in scenes which could herald the future of the NHS.
Little Yousef is hours away from a life-saving heart operation, and his distraught family are aware there is a chance he won’t pull through.
But they can at least be comforted knowing that he has a constant companion in the Intensive Care Unit.
The tot is being closely monitored by a state-of-the-art £60,000 robot that allows doctors to check on him regularly — even if they are miles away at home.
Yousef is being cared for at the Safra Children’s Hospital, part of the pioneering Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, Israel.
The complex is being billed as the hospital of the future and an inspiring example that could help take the NHS off life support, if we follow its lead.
As junior doctor strikes cripple our health service, Sheba’s use of artificial intelligence, robots and remote care from a “virtual hospital” shows how costly disruption could be avoided in future.
Dr Evyatar Hubara is part of the paediatric team caring for Yousef, who arrived from his home in Palestine when a cardiac anomaly was spotted after he was born.
Around 35 per cent of patients treated here are from the West Bank and Gaza, where facilities are much more basic.
Dr Evyatar told The Sun on Sunday: “Robots have been important for us since the pandemic, when we were scared to touch patients. Now, when I am on call at home, I can send the robot to check on patients and act as a first response in an emergency.
“I connect my computer to the robot and send it to the patient’s room. Then I can study the data on their monitor by using the camera in the robot’s head.
“I can also dial in and my face will appear on the screen on the robot’s chest, allowing me to communicate with the patient.
“After I have assessed the situation, I can decide whether I need to drive into the hospital. It saves a huge amount of time and money.
“The robot can even do my rounds — checking on 20 beds — while I am at home having coffee.”
His colleague Dr Amir Vardi added: “The robot’s camera allows me to see some things better than I can in person, as I can zoom in.
“I can’t physically touch the patient, but it’s still a powerful tool and families are very excited by it.
“When I arrive in the morning, they rush up and say, ‘I spoke to your robot last night’.”
The Sun on Sunday travelled to Tel Aviv to see the ground- breaking developments that experts say show the way ahead for health care.
As well as introducing robots, Sheba bosses have made artificial intelligence part of their radiology department, increasing the accuracy of results by 24 per cent.
Ministers believe such technology could save the NHS a million working days a year.
A blueprint for our health service says “robotic automation” could handle back- office tasks up to ten times faster than humans, saving 30 per cent in costs.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay last month announced a £21million fund to develop AI care.
Dr Adam Dubis, associate professor at University College London’s Global Business School for Health, said: “The potential impact on the NHS is limitless. We are well aware of the long wait times to see the GP. Having AI-enabled assistants will help triage patients.”
UK doctors are already being trained by experts from Israel.
Avner Halperin, CEO of Sheba Impact, recently visited Great Ormond Street Hospital in London to provide training.
He believes technology will remove the need to see doctors in person within 30 years, hugely reducing pressure on the NHS.
Avner said: “Hospitals will be dinosaurs, with most care taking place at home. Patients will only come in for operations that cannot be carried out remotely, such as transplants. For almost everything else we will send sensors and robots to a patient’s home. We are already testing drones to deliver drugs, and will soon carry out blood tests at home. When I visited London, it was clear they are interested.
“It might take three years, or ten years, to get up to speed.”
Sheba is also making the most of new technology.
It carries out remote ultrasounds on pregnant women through a sensor device they attach to their smartphones.
This has saved patients with high-risk pregnancies hundreds of hours of travelling and long waits.
And the facility is about to open a “simulation building” where surgeons will practise saving lives by performing operations through virtual reality headsets.
Also making strides in Israel is Mica Medical, an AI system helping doctors identify breast cancer from mammograms.
It may be introduced by NHS Scotland this year.
Michael Krichli is one of the patients benefiting from the advances at Sheba.
Five months ago, he was brought back to life after he suffered heart failure at home.
He later had a stroke and was fitted with an artificial heart.
The Israeli, from the city of Be’er Ya’akov, had just finished popping balloons on an XR Health VR headset when we spoke to him.
The game was fun but had a serious purpose — it helps him regain mobility in his arms.
Aviation worker Michael, 65, said: “I am so grateful because five months ago I was dead. The physicians brought me back to life with incredible technology.”
His wife of 45 years Sarah, 63, added: “The whole team and the technology they are using are amazing. UK doctors have so much to learn from these people.”
