Paging Dr. Robot

When a patient arrives at an emergency room with symptoms of a stroke, doctors must act fast. But often a neurologist is not available, and not every hospital has one on call. Starting next month, however, 21 Michigan hospitals will have what is being touted as the next best thing: a robot on call. The new program, will make the Pontiac hospital's specialists available around the clock to any hospital in the state that joins. The on-call specialist will use a laptop and the internet to connect to a robot in the participating hospital to join the attending physician at the patient's bedside.