ST Engineering Aethon Launches ZenaRx: Redefining Secure Delivery of Medications, Specimens and Sensitive Goods in Hospitals

PITTSBURGH PA, 29 April, 2024 — ST Engineering Aethon Inc. (Aethon), a leading provider of autonomous mobile robot solutions, today announced the launch of its latest innovation, ZenaRx, a next-generation mobile robot for hospital pharmacies and laboratories. ZenaRx solves the labor and operational challenges faced by hospitals by automating the delivery of medications, lab specimens and supplies so staff can focus on higher value activities such as direct patient care and clinical workflows.

ZenaRx improves upon Aethon's market leading pharmacy and laboratory TUG T2 robot. The enhancements include next-generation autonomous navigation, more flexible form factor, enhanced user interface and a longer run time.

Built on Aethon's 20-year expertise in autonomous robotics and their commitment to enhancing healthcare operations, ZenaRx is faster to deploy and can be used for a broader range of tasks, all leading to higher utilization and operational value.

"We are thrilled to introduce ZenaRx to the healthcare industry. The significant advancements over our existing T2 TUG robots and improved versatility mean this technology is now accessible to a much larger number of hospitals," said Peter Seiff, CEO at ST Engineering Aethon. “ZenaRx ensures that sensitive goods, such as medications and specimens, are delivered with efficiency, precision, reliability, and utmost security and safety. We believe ZenaRx will transform the way hospitals of any size handle their internal logistics, enabling healthcare professionals to focus on what matters most: patient care."

Key Features of ZenaRx:

• Next-Generation Autonomous Navigation: ZenaRx obstacle avoidance and localization is 8-times faster due to Aethon’s new navigation technology. This shaves minutes off each delivery. It is also equipped with side-mounted LIDAR units to enhance the detection of obstacles and environmental hazards. The combination of enhanced efficiency and safety translates to more deliveries per hour and less waiting for the staff.

• Secure: An all-metal cabinet and physically latched doors, biometric security and staff pin codes provide best in class security. Only authorized staff can retrieve the delivery of medications, laboratory specimens or supplies from the robot.

• Flexible Form Factor: ZenaRx provides over 10,000 cubic inches of capacity, a 2.6 times increase over the TUG T2 pharmacy robot. This is greater than any other fixed-cabinet robot in the market. Four independently locking compartments allow secure delivery to several destinations in a single run. Each compartment can accommodate a variety of bin configurations and the bins are easily organized using the touchscreen interface. The four secured compartments can be combined to create two even larger compartments to haul large goods. This versatility enables hospitals to transport a wide range of items, including equipment, tackle boxes and supplies with ease.

• Intuitive Interface: ZenaRx features a human-centered touch interface, allowing the staff to use the robot with nearly zero training. Users can easily send the robot on jobs or quickly reconfigure the robot to handle different types of loads – whether small or large.

• Longer Run Time: ZenaRx can run continuously for 10 hours and even longer if opportunity charging is available between runs.

ZenaRx is now available for hospitals of any size seeking to streamline their internal transportation processes, improve security, and enhance overall operational efficiency. For more information about ZenaRx and Aethon's innovative mobile robot solutions, please visit www.aethon.com.

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For media enquiries, please contact:
Tony Melanson
VP Strategy & Marketing
ST Engineering Aethon
tmelanson@aethon.com