- Where did the idea for ADAMO Robots come from? What is the story behind the company?
The idea for ADAMO was born in 2015 through a physiotherapist from Asturias, Spain, who, seeing that he alone could not meet the treatment needs of his patients, imagined a robot that could collaborate with him to design and automate individualised treatments.
Since then, the project has evolved considerably to become what ADAMO is now, the design has become much more ergonomic and new technologies have been integrated, such as 3D and thermographic cameras, which bring new functionalities to the product. - What level of technical expertise did you have before developing ADAMO?
The team members are qualified, ranging from engineers with a specialisation and PhD in robotics, to biomedical engineers and experience as entrepreneurs. - Was there a degree of confidence in the potential of the interrelationship between physiotherapy and collaborative robotics from the beginning, and do you think that the physiotherapy professional may see ADAMO as a threat or is there room for collaboration?
We must not forget that ADAMO was devised by a physiotherapist to complement his work. To design a new treatment, it is always necessary for a professional to teach the robot the areas of the patient’s body that need to be treated, after which the robot will remember both the patient and the treatment and will be able to execute it as many times as necessary automatically. Although it is true that therapists may initially react with mistrust, they soon understand that ADAMO is not designed to replace them, but to make their work easier, complementary, and collaborative. - What is the reaction of your clients after receiving a massage from a robot? Do they notice any extreme differences between the ‘manual’ and the automated massage?
Those who have tried it agree that the ADAMO treatment is very gentle and generates feeling of relief in the treated area. They are generally surprised at the total absence of pain, despite the pressure exerted by the air jet. This is because the air stimulates not only the affected areas, but also the surrounding areas, which causes the sensory receptors responsible for painless sensations to activate and inhibit the action of nociceptive neurons (responsible for painful sensations), - The automation of processes in production plants is usually accompanied by monitoring of the data being produced. In your case, does the client have a visualisation of the progress of each of the sessions?
When the client receives their first treatment, they are registered in the system and their data is stored securely in the cloud. Each client has a username and password with which they can access the ADAMO platform from any device with internet access, where they can consult their data and track their treatments, thermographic images and the evolution of their ailments. - How is the Medical Device Class II process going, and are you confident that Adamo will be integrated into public centres related to social security?
Medical certification processes are very restrictive, costly, and time-consuming. We have been immersed in the process for almost two years now, having already completed the necessary clinical trials at Logroño Hospital. Adamo Robot enjoys the confidence of the public Social Security system, at least where it is installed in the San Pedro Hospital, as it can reduce waiting lists and improve patient recovery times, also increasing the hours of care. - One of our objectives is to develop training for companies in the integration of collaborative robotics, focusing on ergonomic aspects that could improve the well-being of workers by eliminating certain repetitive and tedious tasks. In this sense, what is your opinion on the integration of collaborative robotics in people’s lives, whether at work or in the private sector?
The integration of collaborative robotics has come to stay and become part of our modern society. Being able to count on a collaborative robot will have an impact on our safety, our quality of care, our productive improvement, cost reduction, etc… Our medieval ancestors already showed a great fascination for what we know as automatons, machines created by the hand of man that imitated the movement of human beings. In our sector, as early as 1985, the use of the first assistance robot in surgical techniques was documented, and since then, new, less intrusive solutions have been implemented, always with the patient in mind, always with the patient’s quality of life in mind. In the field of physiotherapy, we believe that the integration of collaborative robotics is a logical step that adds value for both the healthcare professional and the patient, and we want to contribute to this through ADAMO.
