As medicine and technology continue to evolve, surgical robotics stands at the forefront of the two, promising unparalleled precision and efficiency in procedures. Uncovering the key growth factors driving innovation and the potential barriers that may shape the industry’s trajectory in the years ahead, I (Tanya Ridding, Global Director – Medical Devices & Technology at Invenia Group) interviewed three senior leaders in the space to gain valuable perspectives on the future landscape of surgical robotics.
Jaume Amat is the Chief Executive Officer at Rob Surgical, with a long-track record in start-ups, being directly involved in creating a number of companies, including more than 10 across the biotech and medtech sectors. Founded in 2012, Rob Surgical has proposed to universalize high-precision surgery with a new efficiency approach where precision and safety are a must and that allows for a wider range of surgical procedures and reach an unbeatable balance between added value and cost.
Jerry Chen is the Chief Executive Officer at Brain Navi Biotechnology, who in 2015, established Brain Navi Biotechnology Co., Ltd. Brain Navi Biotechnology focuses on innovative navigation system of brain surgery, and was actually announced as one of the winners of National Innovation Award in 2017, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2023.
Greg Roche is the Chief Executive Officer at Distalmotion and an experienced medical device executive with a demonstrated history of building high-performance cultures. Distalmotion is a medical device company founded in Lausanne, Switzerland with a mission to empower robotic surgery to more hospitals, surgeons, and patients worldwide.
In recent interviews, I asked these senior leaders what they thought the biggest growth factors will be for the surgical robotics space.
According to the CEO of Rob Surgical, the potential for growth lies in the ability to innovate beyond the established norms. “The market will grow,” he says, emphasizing that the current momentum is fuelled by the push from medical professionals who recognize the value of robotics in enhancing surgical outcomes.
However, the key to sustaining this growth lies in differentiation. The market leader, Intuitive, with its Da Vinci system, has set a high standard, making it challenging for new entrants to carve out a niche. “If you try to provide the same products as Intuitive, everyone will always prefer the market leader because they are doing a good job at what they do,” he explains. This highlights the necessity for companies like Rob Surgical to identify unique market opportunities and offer distinct value propositions.
One of the most promising areas for growth is the integration of digital surgery, AI, big data, and real-time feedback into the operating room. While some companies are already incorporating aspects of these technologies, there is a critical gap between their potential and practical application. “The challenge is how you integrate these technologies in a way that is truly useful and powerful for surgeons,” the CEO points out. The focus should be on leveraging these innovations to enhance the safety and performance of surgeries, ensuring that the technology addresses the actual needs of surgeons rather than being driven by what companies perceive as “sexy” features.
Rob Surgical is tackling these challenges head-on with its unique selling propositions (USPs). The company aims to match the performance of market leaders by offering a system with four robotic arms and precision instruments, but with a key difference: an open platform. “Our open platform allows us to integrate new technologies quickly, making it particularly appealing for smaller hospitals,” says the CEO. This flexibility also enables Rob Surgical to introduce a new business model, where their robots can be portable, moving seamlessly between different operating rooms and even hospitals.
Moreover, their system is designed with user experience in mind. Surgeons can choose in real-time when to deploy the robot during surgery, allowing for a blend of conventional and robotic techniques. “We designed our robot with a fast, easy docking approach, using conventional trocars, so it can move seamlessly from laparoscopy to robotic,” he adds. This not only reduces setup time but also shortens the training process, making advanced robotic surgery more accessible to smaller hospitals.
In summary, while the surgical robotics space is ripe with growth opportunities, companies must navigate significant barriers. Differentiation from established players, meaningful integration of cutting-edge technologies, and an emphasis on practical usability are crucial for success over the next 12 months. Rob Surgical is positioning itself to meet these challenges, offering a versatile and accessible solution that could redefine the landscape of surgical robotics. – Jaume Amat, Rob Surgical
“Our experiences as surgeons are still very important; the technique, the usability, and the ease of understanding are crucial. We must develop surgical robots that surgeons love to use, so they can advocate for their adoption. Intuitive has long dominated the global market, with the Da Vinci robot being a renowned system, primarily focused on more general surgeries. I believe the future will trend towards patient and therapy-specific robots, as that is where a robotic system can add significant value.
An example of the importance of robotic surgeries is illustrated in the case of intracranial haemorrhage during surgery. Typically, if the bleed is less than 30 mL, we don’t intervene; we monitor the patient and wait for reabsorption. However, this can delay the return of the patient’s muscle power function, and in some cases, it may never return to pre-surgical levels. We have developed a method to aspirate using a needle in the blood clot through our platform in ICH cases. In over 40 cases, we had no complications or delayed bleeds, and the vast majority of patients regained full muscle power function within 24 hours and were able to stand up the same day they had surgery. This represents a significant difference in patient outcomes and demonstrates where doctors and robots must act as one to create a new future and a new standard for surgical treatment.” – Jerry Chen, Brain Navi
“The first growth factor we see is the role that more competition will play. When there’s more competition within the space, there’s greater technological advancements and innovation delivering more advanced and accessible robotic systems. Greater competition will also then drive down the cost of advanced technologies for the end customer globally. You see this trend across all types of innovations that sweep across our society. What this means for us, is that there will a “stratification” of the robotics space with a greater range of robotic offerings available from different manufacturers providing more solutions across all indications, for all budgets and across all geographies. All with the goal of improving patient outcomes and improving healthcare efficiencies.
The second growth factor we see is a shift in where robotic surgery can be offered. There’s a growing demand to be able to provide robotic surgery in a more local ASC or outpatient setting, particularly for Iower acuity or “higher volume” procedures – allowing patients, when clinically appropriate, to be discharged sooner without expensive overnight stays. Increasingly, we’ll see robotic platforms that provide a solution that is well suited and economically sustainable for these environments. This will allow more patients who need to undergo “higher volume” procedures to benefit from robotic surgery.
Finally, there’s growing collaboration and partnerships between surgical robotics manufacturers, established medical device companies, digital startups and healthcare institutions which foster further innovation and development. Across the robotics space, covering robotic systems themselves; digital surgery and the use of artificial intelligence; imaging and navigation; and many more verticals; collaborations combine expertise and resources allowing each individual company to focus their attention and efforts, whilst benefiting by creating the best possible and best value products and to surgeons and hospitals in partnership with other providers.” – Greg Roche, Distalmotion
I also dove into potential barriers for the industry over the next 12 months.
“When it comes to potential growth barriers for the robotics space, increasingly hospital buying decisions are becoming progressively more complex. A combination of stronger budgetary constraints due to a tough economic climate, and more complex decision-making processes involving more and more stakeholders – this results in more complex and time-consuming buying decisions resulting in longer sales cycles.
Secondly, HCPs require specialised training to operate robotic systems safely and effectively. Despite high quality competency-based surgical training being of utmost importance when adopting new clinical technologies, as it stands today with traditional robotics, there a complex and time-consuming learning curve where HCPs are often required to learn new surgical techniques in addition to fundamental technology training. This need to learn new surgical techniques, and to undergo rigorous product training for each platform, all requires HCPs to take significant time out of clinical practice.
Finally, specific robotic reimbursement lags behind the speed of innovations coming to market. In certain healthcare systems, reimbursement policies may not adequately cover the full cost of current robotic procedures, limiting access of robotic systems to larger hospital providers with additional forms of revenue.” – Greg Roche, Distalmotion
“The challenge remains pricing; people desire surgical robots, but they are not inexpensive. We need to determine how to reach a solution that works for hospitals. Additionally, there is the lengthy sales cycle and complex negotiation process, which means it can take a considerable amount of time for new companies in the space to become operational, especially for those based in Asia and entering the European and US markets. We have cultural differences in business and healthcare that we need to better understand to smooth these differences and meet our customers’ needs effectively.
There can also be pushback or resistance to change and new technologies, but the future is a collaborative effort between doctors and robots—regardless of the procedure type—and this collaboration will advance the future of surgery. Twenty-five years ago, everyone was performing open surgeries, and then minimally invasive laparoscopic surgeries became the gold standard and later the norm. Change can happen, and we need to embrace it.” – Jerry Chen, Brain Navi
Thank you to Jaume, Greg and Jerry for your valuable insights.
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