The other theoretical advantage involves haptic feedback. In
laparoscopy, when you touch tissue you get instant haptic feedback.
With previous robots, surgeons rely on visual cues to know they are
handling tissue. With Senhance's built-in haptic feedback, you actu-
ally feel the resistance as you handle tissue. That's an extremely
valuable enhancement.
Increased value
I really like the modular concept of the Senhance system; I think it's
going to be the norm in the future in order to bring costs down and
save time. We can grow with the system we originally bought. If a new
part comes out, they can upgrade or replace the old part. You don't
have to buy a whole new system. That cost savings was a big determi-
nant for us. The other thing I like: You don't have to dispose of the
instruments and buy a whole new set after 10 uses; the instruments
with the Senhance system are infinitely reusable. If they break, you
can repair them. We've done about 45 Senhance cases so far, and we
haven't had to throw away one instrument. That's huge in a healthcare
system that scrutinizes every penny spent.
Learning curves are getting shorter, too. Because the instruments
with this new robot more closely resemble traditional laparoscopic
instruments, it doesn't take an experienced surgeon much time to get
comfortable with the tech. For the nurses and techs who assist me, it
was plug and play, essentially. We've learned how to set it up and
clean the instruments very quickly for each case.
The point here is, surgical robots are only going to become more
affordable, functional and cost-effective in the future because of
increased competition and demand. The technology is always improv-
ing based on surgeon feedback and the needs of patients. The da Vinci
robots continue to evolve after 2 decades in the field. As with most
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