Singapore: In a bid to promote the use of robotics and assistive technologies in advancing healthcare, Singapore's Changi General Hospital (CGH) has opened a new center for robotics-the Centre for Healthcare Assistive and Robotics Technology (Chart).

Spearheaded by CGH and supported by the Singapore Economic Development Board, Chart was officially inaugurated by the President Mr Tony Tan Keng Yam. As per reports Chart is believed to be the first-of-its-kind collaborative platform in Singapore that will enable healthcare professionals to work closely with academia, industry and research institutions to develop healthcare solutions based on robotics and assistive technologies.

The initiative aims to develop solutions that address five key domains: developing virtual hospitals; transforming aged care; optimizing rehabilitation; automating processes; and enhancing medical training.

Officials stated that on a national level, Chart will serve as a shared platform to engage various healthcare clusters and aged-care providers to design new healthcare solutions. It will also become a launch pad for the National Robotics Program, a multi-agency initiative that manages the end-to-end development of robotics technologies, they said.