Dr. Oleynikov himself is working on a smaller, less expensive robot
for abdominal surgeries with a company called Virtual Incision, where
he's chief medical officer. "It's basically a throwaway robot," he says.
"You get 10 to 15 uses out of it, then throw it away. It's designed for
the outpatient/ASC environment because it's very easy to use, dock
and clean, and it's designed for smaller ORs." He says the robot is still
"more promise than fact" at this point, however.
"Others are interested in creating smaller single-incision robots that
are easier to use and deploy, and cheaper to operate versus a multi-
arm robot," he adds. "That future is coming, but it's going to take time.
My guess is over the next 3 to 5 years, we'll see a lot more competi-
tors on the market."
OSM
9 6 • O U T PA T I E N T S U R G E R Y M A G A Z I N E • D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 9
Here's a look at 6 abdominal robotic platforms either available
now or in development:
• Senhance. TransEnterix's Senhance, available now, blends the
benefits of robotics with the familiarity of laparoscopic surgery in
hopes of appealing to experienced surgeons. Its arms match the
exact movements of the surgeons' hands. "Surgeons have trained
their brains and muscles to work the reverse fulcrum effect that
occurs with traditional laparoscopic instrumentation," says Roger
Smith, PhD, chief scientist at AdventHealth Nicholson Center in
Celebration, Fla. "They've spent years mastering that technique,
and some have not converted to robotic surgery for that reason."
Senhance's stereoscopic view lets surgeons see anatomy in high-
def 3D, while instrument clutching lets them move and maintain
instruments as they move their arms and shoulders back into com-
fortable resting positions.
PROMISING
PLATFORMS
Da
Vinci
Alternatives
