China's first "robot doctor" was put into use in a hospital in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, recently.

The robot, named Li Xiaogang, [Businesses Registration]weights 4.3 kilograms and is 58 centimeters tall. It assists the medical workers and patients in the breast care department of Jiangsu Cancer Hospital.

"Hello, Doctor Li Jian," the robot said. "A busy day has begun. Today you will deal with three main issues. The first is that three patients will be discharged."

Li Jian, a doctor with the hospital, said: "Li Xiaogang is able to identify people by analyzing their faces after recording the images of all the doctors and patients in the department through a webcam. It tells doctors the daily schedule in a soft voice, and it never makes a mistake."

"We also let it give treatment information to patients every Friday afternoon," Li said. "Many patients pay careful attention to its explanations because it makes gestures that are very interesting.

"It conveys the doctors' opinions to patients correctly, which has greatly eased the burden of medical workers in the overcrowded hospital. If a consultation is needed, it can tell doctors all of the patient's medical history".

The robot, [Hong Kong company registration] which can also speak English, was manufactured in France and cost 200,000 yuan ($32,220). The software used to operate it was jointly written by the hospital and IT companies.

When it is fully charged, Li Xiaogang can be used for three to four hours. It can also have simple conversations with people.

"The words you use should be identical to those recorded in the program, or the robot won't be able to understand you," said Li.

Zhou Chengke, husband of a breast-cancer patient, said that the robot has been a great help in calming his family members.

Zhou said: "It can even show us the well-known South Korean star Psy's dance. Ordinary people don't see robots frequently in their daily lives. My family members sometimes feel depressed because of my wife's illness, but the robot can give us relief for a moment."

According to Li, [Hong Kong Company Formation]the hospital is developing more programs to fully use the robot.

"The robot will assume some complicated work in the future, including writing case histories, checking surgery information and scanning patients' identities on their wristbands," said Li.