GRANNIE: A Scalable, Interactive, Artificial Intelligence Supervisory System for Medical Devices

Abstract

Complex medical devices are difficult for patients to use. The author suggests putting a biologically- inspired, intelligent, modular, open-systems robot control network into these devices for improved patient interaction and supervision. The author’ s system, GRANNIE (an acronym for “Generalized Robotic Accessory with Neural Network, Intellect and Emotions”) emulates human sensory, motor, cognitive and emotional responses. GRANNIE has a processor-neutral hardware bus and software which is independent of CPU or programming language. Improved plug-and-play functions and transducer interoperability were recently added. Scalability for various hardware configurations is provided. GRANNIE technology will help to cre- ate user-friendly, safety-promoting interactive su- pervisors for many varieties of medical devices.