Surgical Robotics Are Here To Stay

The global medical robotics market is projected to reach $12.7 billion by 2025. But the global surgical robots market size was valued at $6.1 B in 2020 and is projected to reach $22.27 B by 2028.

Per Vegard Nerseth, CEO at CMR Surgical, says that one of the many drivers behind the demand we see for robotics is the pandemic.

“Healthcare systems around the world are under enormous pressure, with a growing backlog of patients awaiting elective surgeries, including many that have been canceled as a result of Covid-19,” said Nerseth. “Using surgical robotics systems, surgeons can perform more complex surgeries using keyhole techniques instead of through open surgery. The use of surgical robots can reduce patient length of stay following operations, helping in turn to reduce the burden on beds and on the workforce tackling the pandemic.”

Nerseth says the robotics industry has seen a significant amount of innovation and technological advancement in recent years, particularly the shift towards collaborative robots that can work safely and seamlessly with humans. “Progress in the field of robotics has been incredible.’

“We don’t associate robots with giant, heavy, steel machines that work alone anymore, but more as small, lightweight pieces of technology with improved hardware and software that are both safe and efficient,” said Nerseth. “This shift impacts many industries from healthcare to manufacturing where robots supporting humans to boost efficiencies, rather than replacing them.”

Nersmith believes that with global healthcare systems facing challenges with aging populations and increasing economic pressures, the industry is looking for technology to alleviate pressure points.

Surgical care

“One important area that can have an impact in reducing global death and disability is access to surgical care,” said Nerseth. “Applying transformative robotic technology to assist surgical teams in operating rooms around the world has enabled great benefits, such as greater access to keyhole surgery.”

Keyhole surgery has several benefits over traditional open surgery, according to Nerseth, including less pain and scarring for patients, reduced risk of complications and infections, which makes it less likely that patients will need to return to surgery.

Nerseth says that this type of surgery is complex and physically demanding to perform. “I believe that robotics can help with this – making keyhole surgery more universally accessible and affordable.”

“Patients should be receiving the highest quality of surgical care, and robotic-assisted surgery can increase access to keyhole surgery and drive high-quality care,” said Nerseth. “Robotics is an enabler of keyhole surgery, supporting surgeons and their teams to deliver this high standard of care, get patients home faster after surgery, and to free up hospital beds and resources.”

Helping with burnout

Nerseth says that even before the pandemic, one in five surgeons in the UK and US felt they would need to retire early due to the physical impact of performing keyhole surgery. “So we have a real problem of a burnt-out healthcare workforce which can be supported by which can be supported by robots.”

“Robots help with the physical and mental impact of performing surgery through their ergonomic designs meaning surgeons can sit or stand comfortably at a console rather than contorting themselves into awkward positions over the patient,” said Nerseth.

What to watch

Data.

“The impact of data and digitalization is very exciting,” said Nerseth. “With surgical robotics, for the first time, we have a real-time digital interface between the surgeon and patient which will produce all sorts of data from a procedure which would otherwise be lost including surgeon’s specific movements.”

Nerseth adds that if you couple all this telemetric data with clinical outcomes, surgeons will understand which techniques equate to better patient outcomes more clearly. This type of insight will help standardize surgery and be critical for the training of future surgeons.

“For instance, the data the robot collects could identify any specific bad habits, while techniques of the surgeons with the best outcomes for patients can be shared and integrated into future training,” said Nerseth.

And, Nerseth adds that we can learn a lot from data with Omicron on the rise. “We’ve seen before how as Covid-19 cases go up, so does the surgical backlog – which means millions more end up waiting for vital surgery as the NHS amongst others struggle with manpower and resources.”

“Surgical robotics [..] give greater amounts of data to prepare the next generation of surgeons for future crises,” said Nerseth. “Five to ten years from now, we might look back on today as the ‘early years of what may well be regarded as the decade of robotics.”