iRobot, an innovator in artificial intelligence, manipulation, mobility and navigation, has invested $6 million in InTouch Health, an expert in telemedicine solutions and services, to provide enhanced patient care in hospitals, operating and procedure rooms, patient wards and ICUs.
In addition, both the companies have expanded the joint development and licensing contract, which was signed in July 2011 to explore remote presence in healthcare surroundings. Based on the new agreement, iRobot will have access to FDA regulated healthcare facilities through InTouch Health. The initial venture will be in hospitals, operating rooms, patient wards and emergency care facilities.
Both companies will work together to find potential healthcare applications on iRobot’s platforms like iRobot Ava, a mobile robotics platform. In addition, the expanded agreement will allow the companies to leverage their combined capability in remote presence telemedicine solutions. The investment will help InTouch Health and iRobot to utilize their technologies and expertise for developing remote healthcare robots and assistive technologies for senior people.
Colin Angle, iRobot’s Chairman and CEO, stated that InTouch Health has a global presence as one of the initial developers of FDA-cleared telemedicine solutions. Hence, the investment will further enhance the partnership of the two companies to develop remote presence telemedicine solutions.
Source: http://www.irobot.com/