From a Healthy Start Sprint project to impact
What started a year ago as the NEOPERFECT project has since developed into a successful, impactful innovation in healthcare: the mother milk robot. In the interview below, Tom Ouwehand discusses the role of robotics in the hospital and how this technology contributes to more nurse-centered care.
The shortage of healthcare personnel poses a functional challenge in hospitals. By connecting technology, care, and society, new solutions emerge that can reduce workload and improve the quality of care. The mother milk robot and Samen Sophia are striking examples of what Convergence and Healthy Start stand for: innovating together for a healthy start for every child.
Preparing mother milk – such as filling it with milk and warming it up – is an essential but time-consuming and repetitive task within neonatal care. By automating this process, the workload of nurses can be significantly reduced and patient safety increased. As Ouwehand manually states: ‘Less unnecessary, labor-intensive work for nurses means more time at the patient’s bedside. That is nurse-centered care in practice.’
The team is currently working on the third prototype of the robot. It is expected to be operational in clinical practice around 2028 or 2029.
Read the full interview here (in Dutch): Tom bouwt een moedermelkrobot – Amazing Erasmus MC
This story is also published in the newspaper AD (in Dutch).
Also looking for a way to make impact? Our call for new Sprint projects is now open. Click here for more information.
Collaboration for healthcare innovation: the development of the Neoperfect milking robot
The Neoperfect milking robot was developed within the Convergence network, in which various organizations join forces to stimulate healthcare innovation. Neollie, Erasmus MC Sophia Kinderziekenhuis, RoboHouse – TU Delft field lab, Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam, and Healthy Start are involved in this project. The project receives funding from the WorkTech healthcare innovation program, an initiative of Medical Delta, InnovationQuarter, and ZWconnect, and is co-financed by a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) grant from Health Holland.
Bringing healthcare innovations to market is of great importance to all parties. This collaboration underscores the added value of multidisciplinary initiatives for improving healthcare and making it future proof.
Contact
For further questions, please reach out to Tom.
