Houston-based Texas Medical Center and ABB, a robotics company headquartered in Switzerland, will launch a non-surgical robotics research and development facility at the TMC Innovation Institute.
The 5,300-square-foot center aims to explore and develop ways for ABB's robotic technology to assist with non-surgical healthcare tasks, such as measuring proper dosages of medications and assembling sterile instrument kits for surgeons.
ABB anticipates 20 employees will work at the new facility, which will comprise an automation lab as well as robot training facilities.
"We are proud to co-develop collaborative robotics systems for the hospital of the future with one of the world's most advanced partners," said Sami Atiya, president of ABB's robotics and discrete automation business, according to a news release. "And to test them in real-world laboratories to ensure they add value to healthcare professionals, driving innovation and transforming how medical laboratories operate worldwide."
TMC launched its innovation institute in 2014. Since then, the institute has collaborated with more than 250 health information technology companies.