From the April 2016 issue of HealthCare Business News magazine


Both companies have focused on introducing single-site surgery robotic systems that are less expensive alternatives to Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci systems, according to ECRI. Even though the systems are not a direct competitor of the da Vinci systems, the market is expected to become more competitive.

Maliff says that hospitals may be able to negotiate better prices with Intuitive Surgical now that there will be more competition, which is something that they usually weren’t able to do in the past. He expects that Intuitive Surgical will respond by conducting several clinical studies to demonstrate the value of their systems.


When asked how the company will stay competitive in the growing robotic surgery marketplace, Justin Higgs, senior manager of media relations at Intuitive Surgical, said that, “With over 20 years of experience in the field, Intuitive Surgical has grown to have a deep understanding of robotic-assisted surgical technology and surgeon needs, and has developed a critical ecosystem.”

Google and Ethicon are planning on leveraging Google’s analytics to develop a robotic surgical platform that will be “smart and connected to other data sources, have a smaller footprint and be less costly.” The system will also enable real-time imaging.

Since the da Vinci S model will soon be decommissioned and many Si models are reaching their end of life at hospitals, hospital executives are faced with the task of determining what to do next. They must decide if they want to replace their existing system with a new da Vinci model, or wait for the new robotic systems to hit the market.

When making that decision, hospitals should first consider what the intended surgical use is, according to Maliff. That’s important to consider when determining the type of surgical field of view, range of motion, single- or multiple-incision surgery and image guidance that is needed.

New procedures in the hybrid OR
“More and more disciplines want to use the capability of imaging during surgery,” said Siemens’ Kulkarni. “The general trend is toward minimally-invasive surgery. Since it’s minimally-invasive surgery, and therefore, you have to see something, image-guided surgery is on the rise.”

With the exception of procedures including routine endovascular surgery, routine orthopedic surgery and pain management, which can be performed with mobile C-arms, Kulkarni thinks that every other procedure that requires advanced imaging will enter the hybrid OR.

April 2016 Magazine

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