A scan during the appointment
Professor Anton Chan, a consultant physician and rheumatologist, said early diagnosis matters because delaying treatment can damage joints. Arthur helps the team examine patients on the day they attend and decide on treatment.
The technology is already used in seven countries, according to James Blythe, chief executive of the hospital trust. Royal Berkshire is its first UK site.
Part of a wider technology push
The trust says its investments are intended to help it see patients earlier and carry out interventions that extend life and improve its quality. Arthur is one part of that programme:
I think the more consequential detail is the service pressure behind the rollout: the department already performs 200 hand MRI scans annually, and demand is growing. The announcement does not say whether Arthur will increase capacity, shorten waits or change diagnostic outcomes. Without those measures, the case for the investment rests on the promise of earlier decisions rather than evidence of what the robot has changed.
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