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Robot offers new therapy option
“This is gonna save so much money in medication,” said Health Director Heather Whyte, of Vinson Hall, an assisted living facility in McLean.Whyte was talking about Vinson's latest treatment for residents with Alzheimer's disease, an innovation that doesn't come in pill form but does have flippers and the computing power of two personal computers: Paro, the “seal type mental commit robot.”
Vinson Hall is one of the first U.S. nursing homes to incorporate robot therapy into its regimen, and results seem to be positive.
“The walker will sit down and play with it, the anxious ones are calmed down,” said Vinson CEO Kathy Martin, referring to the aimless wandering and anxiety that are common symptoms of Alzheimer's.
According to Japanese inventor Takanori Shibata, Paro works by being cute. Paro looks and sounds like a fluffy, white baby harp seal and is programmed to respond to sound and touch. Shibata recorded real baby seal noises for the robot's voice and says he used a seal because “most people are too familiar with cats or other common pets.”
“A seal is unfamiliar enough to seem more real as a robot,” he said.
When someone pets Paro, the robot processes the information and learns from it, repeating behaviors that result in the most petting. According to Jane Priest of the Fairfax County Alzheimer's Association, petting Paro will feel familiar to the patient, recalling memories of holding children.
“One patient compared it to a baby, saying that she had plenty of children back at home,” said Whyte.
Animal therapy, in which Alzheimer's patients are brought together with calm, friendly animals, is already an accepted practice in geriatrics. According to Shibata, Paro works under the same principle.
“Not all people are able to own animals,” said Shibata during a demonstration at Vinson Hall.
“Paro does not get old or sick,” he added.
Representatives from Fairfax County Health and Human Services and several Alzheimer's advocacy organizations, all enthusiastic about Paro, attended the demonstration.
The robots are handmade in Shibata's native Japan, where about 1,000 are currently being used by the general public in therapy or as pets. At Vinson, patients reacted positively to Paro, asking if it was a dog, or what it ate.
“I told her it ate electricity,” Martin said.
The robots will be available for retail purchase in the United States this summer, at about $5,000 each.
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