BOSTON -- They don't have R2D2's polished look, but robots are revolutionizing the preparation of medications and even chemotherapy drugs at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

NewsCenter 5's Heather Unruh reported Friday that the robotic medication dispensers give peace of mind to some pharmacy staff.

"Absolutely," said pharmacy manager Caryn Belisle. "It helps me sleep at night."

Belisle worried about her staff because while chemotherapy agents can be a lifeline for cancer patients, they can be highly toxic to the people who mix them.

"If they're exposed to this medication they can have the same types of side effects that you see patients receiving the chemotherapy with," she said.

Brigham and Women's is one of only a handful of hospitals around the world to have invested in pharmacy robots. The potential benefits for patients are real -- more accurate medications and dosing. According to the Institute of Medicine, medication mistakes account for many of the nearly 100,000 medical errors made each year.

Using mechanical hands, the robots removes human error and sharpen accuracy. It weighs everything -- from ingredients to syringe -- and ultimately, the final product, too.

"It checks that against what the theoretical weight should be. If it's not within tolerance, the product is rejected," said Bill Churchill, of Brigham and Women's Hospital.

Just down the hall, a second robot is filling sterile products -- up to 400 per hour. On a good day, a human technician would be able to fill about 100.

Syringe production costs alone have been slashed by half.

"Overall we calculated our savings at Brigham and Women's to be about a million dollars a year," said Churchill.

Used with an advanced bar coding system, the hospital's closer to its zero mistakes goal.

"There is a closed loop technology where it's always the right medication, so we can assure the right dose for the right patient at the right time," according to medication safety officer Chad Stashek.

The hospital says robots won't eliminate jobs, but human responsibilities have changed.

Brigham and Women's is leasing the robots for the time being, keeping up front costs minimal, and the savings immediate