“So that children never feel alone again”: the first steps of the Miroka robot in pediatric radiotherapy at the ICM, in Montpellier
Miroka devra interagir avec les enfants. Midi Libre – S.G.
Le prototype sera adapté aux besoins des soignants et aux demandes des enfants pour être intégré au parcours de soin. C'est une première mondiale.
“I am here today to get to know you and present what I will soon be doing. My role will be to support children during their radiotherapy sessions and throughout their treatment journey. I will be there to offer them a reassuring presence, and make their experience less stressful" : Miroka, the humanoid companion robot, gave its first press conference, this Wednesday, October 16, at the ICM Val d’Aurelle, a center dedicated to cancer care, in Montpellier.
The day after the announcement of its arrival, as part of the MedVallée conference, the robot, at the heart of an experiment that will be unique in the world, was highly anticipated.
From the height of her 1.26 meters (for 27 kg) “the corpulence of a 6-7 year old child”, says Samuel Benveniste, co-director of the Parisian company Enchanted Tools, which developed it, the prototype has put smiles on the faces of caregivers who are confronted daily with the distress of children with cancer, and their families.
Miroka will not work miracles, the prototype will gradually integrate into the life of the service.
"It's the project of an entire course of care"
Four microphones, two 3D cameras, a battery that allows it to last eight hours of autonomy, an on-board artificial intelligence, a friendly face and a soft voice… Miroka (or Miroki, for the male version of the robot), will be "educated" during its first months at the ICM, explains Professor David Azria, director of Siric Montpellier cancer (integrated cancer research site), which supports innovation, with robotics engineers from Lirmm and IES (Institute of Electronics and Systems), in interaction with the Enchanted Tools team.
The partners are united in an agreement signed this Wednesday. “For my part, robots, I had stopped at Goldorak”, smiled the oncotherapist.
ICM, represented by its CEO Marc Ychou, and Samuel Benveniste, of Enchanted Tools, have signed an agreement. Midi Libre – S.G.
“We're not going to send him straight away for radiotherapy, that's the plan for a whole course of care. What can he say, not say, how will he react to what the children say, to the rays ? Miroka must first be able to welcome children and support them. The problem with radiotherapy is that the child, and it's sometimes a 5-year-old toddler, is left alone for ten minutes in a room where no other human can enter. He has sessions over a month. He is hampered because the dose of radiation is delivered to the nearest millimeter. Despite all our efforts, some are very anxious. “It's hard to see these children crying under the machine. I hope they never feel alone again,” says Dr. Welmant.
Dr. Julien Welmant, a radiotherapist specializing in pediatrics at the ICM, brought the robot into the radiotherapy unit. Midi Libre – S.G.
“It was a dream, it is coming true”
It will be a unique experience : “It was a dream, it is coming true. “It has never been done in the world,” concludes the doctor, passionate, for his part, about the world of robots.
“Plus fort la vie” has mobilized to finance
The robot would never have arrived in Montpellier without the mobilization of Bessanaise Sandrine Moustardier and her association "Plus fort la vie", created following the death of her daughter from cancer in 2014, at the age of 23. "Very moved", Sandrine Moustardier, supported by Laeticia Halliday on this operation, is mobilizing to bring innovative projects to the ICM. Kevin Ortiz, a shopkeeper in Cap d’Agde, also a member of the association, was also very active. The collection, which reached 120,000 euros, financed the purchase of the prototype robot and the initial costs inherent in integrating the robot into the pediatric unit.
Each year, around twenty children are treated at the ICM, and around fifty are received for consultation.
Miroka should be ready to meet them in early 2025, the doctors hope. Ophélie Romagnoli, a radiographer, is enthusiastic: “We can't wait, it will be fun! The children come into our arms, cry, scream, it adds stress. The robot can be our ally”.
Samuel Benveniste, co-founder of Enchanted Tools, wants to evolve the prototype. Midi Libre – S.G.
Samuel Benveniste, co-creator of Enchanted Tools: “Rehumanizing care”
"It's an experiment" : co-creator, with Jérôme Monceaux (the "father" of NAO and Pepper, educational robots developed in his previous company, Aldebaran), of the start-up Enchanted Tools, created in 2021, Samuel Benveniste remains cautious.
"It would have been easier to come up with an immediately efficient robot, which “may not have been adapted to the demands of caregivers” , recalls the engineer, who worked for ten years in nursing homes, where Miroka and Miroki could also be deployed, work is underway with AP-HP, in Paris: “The challenge is to successfully achieve large-scale industrialization, which will allow us to sell a product at a more affordable price, at 30,000 euros”, the engineer projects, hoping for “approval in 2025”, and announces an ambitious objective: “We are counting on 100,000 robots sold in the next ten years”.
In the meantime, it is a "beautiful adventure that begins", from Paris, where the start-up employs a hundred people. It will open an "open factory" there, a place that will allow people to discover the world of robots and become familiar with AI.
And it's not just a matter of machines, assures Samuel Beneviste: "We want a robust, useful, and social robot. We work with strong ethics. Robots are there to do all the things that people don't want to do. At AP-HP, it is being tested in a department where positions are closed due to lack of staff.
The engineer takes the subject in reverse of the usual debates: “Our goal is to rehumanize care, and if there is a robot, there will be more humans”.
Miroka lives up to its name, in a non-literal translation from Japanese: “Seeing the wonder of the other”.
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