Although the da Vinci and the Senhance are the only 2 general sur-
gery robots currently in play, Dr. Schabowsky expects to see several
more platforms enter the marketplace within the next 5 years. He says
Titan Medical is developing a robot that could be FDA cleared within
a year. The robot promises to offer a unique, single-slice surgical solu-
tion, says Dr. Schabowsky.
"The da Vinci and the TransEnterix robots have 3 to 4 different ports
of openings on the patient," he explains. "Titan Medical is trying to
come up with a robot that uses a single port for all the instruments."
However, similar to the da Vinci and the Senhance, Titan Medical's
robot will be controlled by the surgeon from a console away from the
patient.
As new robots continue to emerge, Dr. Schabowsky expects prices to
drop and multiple versions of platforms to be developed at various
price points to let hospitals and surgery centers right-size the technolo-
gy to their budgets and clinical needs. "You can add robotics for what
you need without investing more money than you'd like," he adds.
Specialized applications
Surgical robots are most often used for abdominal procedures, joint
repairs and spinal surgery, and are contributing to the shift of sur-
geries from inpatient to outpatient ORs. "Because of added visuali-
zation and dexterity of the tools, you're able to do more complicat-
ed cases that are minimally invasive," says Jeremy Heffner, MD, a
general surgeon at Midwest Surgical Specialists in Lima, Ohio.
"Long-term, robotics will let more surgeons do more complex pro-
cedures."
• Abdominal. The da Vinci platform established the robotic surgery
market through laparoscopic prostatectomies, but that single focus is
beginning to evolve. Dr. Heffner says using the da Vinci robot mini-
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