Prof Masia, you will be at the Geriatronics Summit for the first time this year. What connects you to the topic?

Among other things, I work with robotics for rehabilitation. For example, helping people to walk with the help of collaborative robots. The exosuits developed by my research team, for example, enable people to walk with less effort. They wear a wide belt around their hips, connected to two cuffs firmly attached to the thigh via two thin, tear-resistant ropes. The belt, which weighs around three kilograms, contains two motors that support the human thigh muscles. On a 1.2-kilometer section of the Philosophenweg in Heidelberg, we proved that the metabolism of test persons wearing the exosuit drops by around 20 percent. In this way, we can help people who find it difficult to walk and move due to a degenerative disease, for example. We use robotic applications to help people who are restricted in their movement due to illness or age. Ultimately, our exosuits are intended to do what an e-bike already does for many people today. Many use it to cycle further and higher, but without having to exert more energy. In the context of geriatrics, we are talking about people who are limited in their ability to walk due to old age. Nevertheless, they want to go hiking without having someone by their side. It should be a matter of course. Our exosuits can achieve this. And once they are industrially produced, everyone can afford them. 

You are moderating a panel discussion on the challenges of robotics in the healthcare sector. What challenges do you see? 

There are several challenges in this field of research.

• This includes regulation in the European Union. I have worked in the USA and in Asia, where the protection of patients is very much taken into account. Even if we should perhaps not cite China as an example of how things should be done: There is simply too much regulation here and, in my experience, a lot of documentation is demanded by the Ethics Commission or regulators, for example. This leads to researchers migrating from here to overseas and the Far East. 
• It is also essential that patients and medical staff alike accept the technology. This requires specialized staff to be trained in the use of targeted robotic applications, perhaps even at university. We should utilize the strength of robotic systems, for example, in rehabilitation, whose measurements can be more precise and reliable than those of humans. This has also been done in medical imaging for years. The images are taken by specialized staff, and the doctor analyses and interprets the images. 
• Artificial intelligence is an additional tool that can support human intelligence. Its potential must be utilized. AI can also help in rehabilitation by using big data to predict how the rehabilitation process will develop. Here, too, the aim is to extend human capabilities further. 

What do you expect from the Geriatronics Summit?

The unique thing about the Geriatronics Summit is that it takes place where its vision was born. With the campus due to open in a few years, Garmisch-Partenkirchen is developing into a "place of excellence" for robotics in care. It looks as if not only a new brand is being created here but also scientific expertise that is exceptional and always linked to the goal of improving people's quality of life.

More information about the Geriatronics Summit 2024

geriatronics.mirmi.tum.de/en/geriatronics-summit-2024/

Interview: Andreas Schmitz