A Canadian-developed, mattress-shaped robot is able to provide premature babies with physical contact that helps them as much as a human touch, according to a new study.
The robot, which has been given the name Calmer, was created by researchers in British Columbia. It is roughly the size and shape of a mattress in a neonatal intensive care unit incubatorused for premature babies.
Calmer was given a texture similar to human skin and other features which help it mimic the feel and sound of humans, in an attempt to duplicate the skin contact benefits without the need of an actual human presence. Researchers studied the effects of Calmer on pain reduction by randomly assigning either the robot or human touch to 49 premature babies in the NICU at a Vancouver hospital and monitoring factors such as their hand movements and heart rates. Twenty-seven of the babies were given traditional hand-hugging, while 22 were placed on Calmer and kept away from direct caregiver contact.
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