Visit with a robot: B.C. researchers test out new way to connect in long-term care

The telepresence robot gives more flexibility to video calls by allowing people to maneuver a tablet mounted on a pole and wheels from a far-away location.

It rolls into the room at a University of British Columbia Hospital smoothly and almost silently: a device with a vertical tablet-like screen mounted atop a pole, and attached to a two-wheeled base.

On the screen, a man looks out and smiles as he drives the robot around the Vancouver hospital room, while he’s seated comfortably in the neighbouring city of Surrey.

The ability to use simple remote controls to maneuver the futuristic device, which is known as a telepresence robot, is part of the reason it’s now being tested out at long-term care homes in Metro Vancouver, as part of a three-year pilot project aimed at helping to reduce social isolation.

Study lead and research associate with the Centre for Health Evaluation and Outcome Sciences Lillian Hung said feeling isolated can affect long-term care residents at many levels. The pandemic has only exacerbated those feelings.

“People with dementia, many of them do not fully understand what the COVID-19 pandemic is about ... sometimes they just feel very confused about why families are not visiting,” she said. “I have seen people stop eating. They think their families are not visiting, they’ve forgotten about them.”

While demand for virtual visits via tablets surged during the pandemic, Hung said that method also has its pitfalls, including demands on already busy care home staff.

“When it comes to connecting, they have all kinds of problems,” she said. “The resident couldn’t hold on to the iPad, or they’re not seeing the resident, they’re seeing the ceiling.”