Robots help local doctors treat patients across the state

The U.S. Department of Agriculture doesn’t typically entrust hundreds of thousands of dollars to a robot. But in the case of a Providence St. Vincent Medical Center telemedicine program to treat stroke patients in rural communities, the exception will likely reap considerable benefits for patients, doctors and hospitals across Oregon.

The department granted $253,000 to allow the Westside facility to add five rural critical access hospitals in Eastern and Central Oregon to the Providence Brain and Spine Institute’s 14-community Telestroke Network.

Based on a system in which doctors control a robot remotely via the Internet, the network allows Providence St. Vincent specialists to diagnose and treat stroke victims in remote locations. The network has been used to treat more than 1,000 patients since it was launched in April 2010.

The newest participants made possible through the grant include Wallowa Hospital in Enterprise, Pioneer Hospital in Heppner, Lake District Hospital in Lakeview and another two Oregon hospitals for which telemedicine systems are pending, said Lisa Helderop, public relations manager for Providence St. Vincent.

Treatment from afar

Jonathan Adelstein, USDA rural development utilities administrator, visited the Beaverton-area hospital from Washington, D.C., on Monday to see a demonstration of Oscar the robot. Oscar allows St. Vincent stroke specialists to immediately interact with and diagnose stroke victims without losing crucial time driving to the hospital.

“With a stroke, timing is essential — a matter of life and death,” Adelstein said. “A world-class neurologist specializing in stroke care at your fingertips — a small, rural hospital is never going to be able to have someone like that on staff.”

At partnering rural hospitals, a robot similar to Oscar serves as a stand-in for St. Vincent specialists who control the remote robot from the medical center or, if necessary, their home computer at 3 a.m. or whenever a stroke victim is admitted. Rural hospitals often lack practitioners trained in evaluating and treating a stroke, and patients in remote locations must often travel large distances to receive care from neurologists and specialized support staff.

“The robot provides the ability to look at a patient” in a remote location, he added. “It’s very important for doctors to see the patients and get clues when they aren’t able to see them in person because there are no stroke specialists” at the rural hospitals.

The grant paves the way for the Telestroke Network to extend to the far reaches of Oregon and represents a commitment to “rural residents having access to a quality of health care every bit as good as in an area like Portland,” Adelstein said.

During the demonstration, Providence St. Vincent neurologists connected Oscar to physicians across the state in the Wallowa Memorial Hospital Emergency Department. Through a secure Internet connection, two-way cameras, a sound system and joystick controller, Oscar demonstrated how physicians conduct an examination and interact with a stroke patient, family members and clinicians to determine the best course of treatment.

“Every partner hospital has those robots,” Helderop said. “Oscar is ours. Wallowa has a robot that looks like Oscar. A doctor can have a laptop and do (his or her) work anywhere. They can do consultations in the middle of night, immediately, rather than driving from 25 minutes away or wherever they live.”

Town and country

With round-the-clock availability, the system saves precious time in diagnosing and treating a stroke victim. Because a stroke — disturbances in blood flow to the brain — can present as blood clots or hemorrhaging, a rapid, accurate diagnosis is crucial to a positive outcome.

The Telestroke Network also reduces or eliminates the need to transport the patient long distances — another hindrance to treatment and recovery — while allowing victims’ families to stay closer to home, reducing expenses and travel-associated stress.

“Robots are one example of the telemedicine technology that with a secure Internet connection and two-way audio-visual specialty equipment, experts can do an enhanced examination,” said Susie Fisher, director of the Providence Oregon Telestroke Program. “Families (of patients) are so appreciative.”

The project is among three others in Oregon and 100 the USDA funds across the country through its Distance Learning and Telemedicine Program, said Jill Rees, public affairs specialist with the USDA Rural Development division.

In addition to Providence, the agency also awarded $312,285 to the North Central Education Service District in Condon for distance-learning programs to benefit rural Gilliam, Sherman and Wheeler County residents earn associate degrees.

Southwest Oregon Regional Airport in North Bend is also receiving a $440,000 grant to install learning facilities with videoconferencing equipment to assist with fire science, search and rescue, and emergency and medical training.

While robot technology can be used to treat a variety of conditions, the acutely time-crucial nature of stroke treatment makes the system a natural match.

“Stroke is the premier application of telemedicine,” Adelstein said.