The potential for haptic touch technology to supplement human empathetic touch during radiotherapy

Simulating the psychological and neural effects of affective touch with soft robotics: an experimental study

Human affective touch is known to be beneficial for social-emotional interactions and has a therapeutic effect. For touch initiated by robotic entities, richer affective affordance is a critical enabler to unlock its potential in social-emotional interactions and especially in care and therapeutic applications. Simulating the attributes of particular types of human affective touch to inform robotic touch design can be a beneficial step. Inspired by the scientific finding on CT-optimal affective touch - a gentle skin stroking at velocities of 1-10 cm/s evidenced to be pleasant and calming, we developed a proof-of-concept haptic rendering system - S-CAT, using pneumatic silicone soft robotic material to simulate the attributes (velocity, temperature and applied normal force) of CT-optimal affective touch. To investigate whether the affective touch performed by the S-CAT system elicits psychological effects comparable to CT-optimal, manual affective touch, we conducted an experimental study comparing the effects of CT-optimal versus non-CT-optimal stimulation velocities in each of three types of stimulation modes (S-CAT device, skin-to-skin manual stroking, hairbrush manual stroking), and across them. Our measures included subjective ratings of touch pleasantness and intensity, neurophysiological responses (EEG), and qualitative comments. Our results showed that velocity modulated subjective and neurophysiological responses in each and across these three stimulation modes, and that CT-optimal stimulations from S-CAT system and manual method received similar ratings and verbal comments on pleasantness, suggesting that the S-CAT touch can have comparable effects to manual stroking. We discuss the design insights learned and the design space that this study opens up to support well-being and healthcare.

Patient and practitioner perspectives on the design of a simulated affective touch device to reduce procedural anxiety associated with radiotherapy: a qualitative study

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to elicit the views of relevant stakeholders on the design of a device using simulated affective touch to reduce procedural anxiety surrounding radiotherapy and imaging.

DESIGN

This qualitative study collected data from focus groups which were then analysed using inductive thematic analysis in line with Braun and Clarke's methods.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

Twenty patients and carers were recruited, as well as 10 healthcare practitioners involved in either delivering radiotherapy or imaging procedures.

RESULTS

Patients, carers and healthcare practitioners agreed on some aspects of the device design, such as ensuring the device is warm and flexible in where it can be used on the body. However, patient and healthcare practitioner cohorts had at times differing viewpoints. For example, healthcare practitioners provided professional perspectives and required easy cleaning of the device. Meanwhile patients focused on anxiety-relieving factors, such as the tactile sensation of the device being either a vibration or pulsation. There was no consensus on who should control the device.

CONCLUSIONS

The desired features of a simulated affective touch device have been investigated. Different priorities of patients and their carers and healthcare practitioners were evident. Any design must incorporate such features as to appease both groups. Areas where no consensus was reached could be further explored, alongside including further patient and public involvement in the form of a project advisory group.