Robot hospital opens in Osaka

The doctor will debug you now.

Got aches in your actuators? Pains in your processor? Then check in to Osaka's new robot hospital.

The Akazawa Roboclinic admitted its first in-patient recently, a humanoid shipped by courier from Bunkyo Ward in Tokyo. The hospital is a side business launched by machinery maker Systec Akazawa. It offers diagnosis and treatment for down-and-out droids.

The clinic, located above a company plant in Fukushima Ward, is just like a hospital for humans. It has all the proper signs over the doors to its various departments, including examination, operating and rehabilitation rooms. Its staff of four, led by hospital chief Dr. Ohno, are decked out in white lab coats. Of course, patients are provided with detailed medical charts. No word yet on whether the food is just as bad as in other hospitals.

The most common ailments treated by Dr. Ohno and his team are faulty motors, severed wires and fractured frames. Their goal is to cure their patients within a week of admission. After all, there's no such thing as robot medical insurance. Yet.

Check out a report from Asahi Broadcasting here.