Robots supporting human-centric health care

Waterloo alumni Nima Zamani (BASc ’14, MASc ’18), Tim Lasswell (BASc ’14, MASc ’17) and John Van Leeuwen (BSc ’81) co-founded Cobionix and are on a mission to optimize health care through autonomous collaborative robots, or cobots.

These robots aim to assist health-care professionals by automating routine and time-consuming tasks.

“Cobots, short for collaborative robots, are designed to work alongside humans in shared environments, enabling seamless collaboration and support,” Zamani says. “Health care is inherently human-centred, and our focus is on supporting professionals by handling repetitive tasks, allowing them to spend more time on critical patient care.”

Cobionix’s flagship cobot, Codi, is specifically designed for tele-assisted ultrasound procedures, helping to address labour shortages in the health-care system. “We want to ensure that even the smallest details enhance patient experience while delivering high-quality medical care,” Zamani explains.

This innovative solution seeks to provide a much-needed resource for overburdened health-care providers, especially in rural, remote or underserved areas. Better access to health-care services through automation reduces the need for patients to travel long distances for essential care.

Cobionix is now conducting trial deployments of Codi under careful supervision at Saskatoon’s Virtual Health Hub, which helps adopt and deliver health-care services to remote communities. “Instead of patients driving long distances to big cities, they can stay in their small towns and receive quality care,” Zamani says.

The University of Waterloo and Velocity played a significant role in helping the co-founders build their company. Velocity provided essential resources including space, mentorship and guidance on how to start a company and raise funds.

Velocity and the University helped shape Cobionix’s focus on health-care robotics, leading to the creation of Codi. “Our vision is to empower health-care workers with technology that makes their jobs easier," Zamani says. “Robots like Codi should always be about helping people. Health care is about humans, and our mission is to ensure that robots remain a tool for improving human lives.”

With Codi, Cobionix is taking important steps to enhance health-care delivery, making quality care more accessible across Canada and beyond.

The article was originally published on UWaterloo News.