7 Healthcast: Delivery robot

Noelle is a computerized doll simulating scenarios related to pregnancy and delivery. She gives health care providers a chance to practice techniques in preparation of type of birth situations, particularly emergencies.

"When you have an emergency like a hemorrhage situation or a shoulder distortion or a cesarean section in some cases, you need to be able to practice," said Donna Montalto Williams of the American College of OBGYN's.

Noelle will be used, not only for staff at St. Mary's Hospital in Troy, New York, but also for emergency responders at fire departments in the area.

"Anybody who has privileges, let's say at a hospital where they deliver babies, it's important that they go through the team training and the drill training with this mannequin, probably one or two times a year," Williams said.

A laptop computer runs dozens of different childbirth emergencies and Noelle responds to the treatment. A microphone allows a woman to provide a voice for Noelle so she can verbally interact like a live patient.

"It used to be, in the old days, we used to say, teach one, see one and then do one," Williams said. "Now you can actually do one. Get right in there, learn about the emergency."

According to the Institute of Medicine, as many as 98,000 patients in the United States die each year from preventable medical errors.

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