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Asensus Surgical CEO Anthony Fernando extrapolates from current trends, and provides insights into the future of robotics-assisted surgery, digitized surgery and telesurgery.
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For robotics-assisted surgery, digitized surgery and telesurgery to reach their full potential, however, 5G infrastructure must be available everywhere. Robotic-assisted surgical practices, too, must be widespread for advancements to continue. But continue it will, and by extrapolating from current trends it is possible to predict the many ways that progress will take form.
Surgical Robots Market
Rationale – Growth in this market will be propelled by advancements in surgical robotics enabling technologies, and an increases in funding for medical robot research. Also driving the sector are the well documented advantages of robotic-assisted surgery including reduced surgical variability and an open-platform architectures that enable hospitals to leverage existing technology investments.
New Surgical Platforms
Rationale – In the last few years, hospitals worldwide have experienced a decrease in their budgets, primarily due to declining government budgets. Cost-cutting has resulted in staff lay-offs, delays in facility upgrades, and freezing capital equipment purchases such as high-cost robotic systems.
New healthcare technologies are often developed and introduced in response to tight hospital budgets. The infusion and widespread adoption of new medical solutions are dependent on the availability of reasonably priced enabling technologies and new business models. Given that new, low cost, powerful enabling technologies such as machine vision, as well as new ownership models, continue to be introduced, new robotics-assisted surgical solutions will follow suit.
Surgical Robots in ASCs
Rationale: Ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) are freestanding facilities specializing in surgical, diagnostic, and preventive procedures that do not require hospital admission. The cost-effectiveness of ASCs provides significant savings for governments, third-party payers, and patients.
Robotics-assisted technology can support the high volume, low-cost procedures that are typically performed with ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). Robotics-assisted technology offers low operating cost through the use of standard reusable instruments and open-platform architecture that allows hospitals to leverage existing technology investments. Given that these low-cost operating costs are passed on to the ASCs to keep the cost-per-procedure comparable, we will see an increase in adoption of robotics-assisted technology in ASCs.
Telehealth / Telesurgery
Rationale – The future of telesurgery relies on two factors – the availability of 5G and the widespread adoption of robotics-assisted technologies. As 5G becomes more prevalent, coupled with advances robotics-assisted technologies, telesurgery will become an increasing viable option for certain procedures.
Augmented Intelligence
Rationale – Artificial Intelligence allows machines to work and react like humans (and potentially replacing humans). The term “Augmented Intelligence” is used to describe using those same machines to enhance the human worker (not replacing the surgeon, but becoming a digital assistant). Augmented intelligence can enhance workflows and enable new levels of precision and accuracy to be carried out with the ultimate goal of delivering consistently superior surgical outcomes.
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