Official News page 7

REAL LIFE NEWS: ROBOTIC WOMAN GIVES BIRTH TO BABY BOT

by Hazed

A robot called Noelle gave birth to a son named Hal in Glenwood Springs, Aspen, Colorada on Thursday. Six times. Yes, she gave birth over and over... because Noelle and her son Hal are part of a simulator designed to train nurses and midwives.

The Valley View Hospital is the first in Colorado to acquire the birth simulator, which is supplied by Gaumard Scientific and costs $37,995.

Little baby bot Hal's slow descent into the world is controlled by a motor hidden beneath Noelle's stomach. When he emerges, he cries. His ribcage expands and contracts as he breathes, and his arms and legs move. If he has trouble breathing, his face turns blue. Nurses can check his pulse, as well as Noelle's, and administer injections if necessary. The whole process is designed to simulate all different kinds of scenario that might occur during a real live birth, so nurses get to experience it before having to do it for real. Instructors control Noelle and Hal and can change things like their heart rates and rhythms and their breathing. They can also make Noelle hemorrhage.

The birth training gets videotaped so participants can analyze their performance later and discuss anything that went wrong. The robot mum and baby are particularly useful to prepare for more rare problems that hospital staff won't often see in real life.

The equipment was bought using a grant from Colorado Trust, and the Danciger Charitable Trust Foundation paid for three instructors to travel to Gaumard's HQ in Florida to be trained in its use.

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