Success of three robots for preparing chemo drugs announced

The Medical Services Department on Tuesday announced the success of its development of automatic robot arms for preparing chemotherapy drugs, devices that have been in development since 2019.

Thaweesilp Wisanuyothin, director general of the Medical Services Department, said three chemotherapy drug preparation robots are now in use at three cancer hospitals under the Public Health Ministry.

He said his department had developed the automatic robot arms with the Faculty of Engineering of King Mongkut’s Institute of Technology Ladkrabang and Udon Thani Cancer Hospital.

The patent for the robot was registered in 2021 and it has been in use at Udon Thani Cancer Hospital since March 2022.

Thaweesilp said the robot won the “Best of the Best” innovation award from the government this year.

Udon Thani Cancer Hospital has used its robot to make chemo drugs to treat 5,529 cancer patients so far. Now, two robots are also being used at Maha Vajiralongkorn Thanyaburi Hospital in Pathum Thani and Ubon Ratchathani Cancer Hospital.

The robot at the Thanyaburi hospital has prepared chemo drugs to treat 5,243 patients so far and at the Ubon Ratchathani hospital 6,000 patients.

According to Thaweesilp, the robots are capable of mixing and preparing chemicals to make 24 types of chemo drugs with precision rates of 98.24%, compared with the 95.05% rate of preparations by humans.

The robot arms work with an automated system under monitoring by pharmacists without contamination and leakage of chemicals into the environment.

Thaweesilp said the use of the robots contributed to the government’s policy that allows cancer patients to seek treatment at the three hospitals even though they have treatment rights in other provinces or in other hospitals.