Medgadget had the opportunity to talk to John Murphy, CEO of Virtual Incision about the MIRA.
Conn Hastings, Medgadget: What challenges are holding back the broader adoption of robotically assisted surgery?
John Murphy, Virtual Incision: It is widely accepted that minimally invasive surgery (MIS) is best for patients, resulting in a shorter length of stay, less pain, a faster recovery and reduced use of narcotics following surgery. While the pioneering work and growth in MIS surgical robotics over the last 20 years is impressive and inspiring, solving complexity and cost challenges will be key to much broader adoption over the coming decades, especially in settings such as community hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and overseas.
Current mainframe platforms are not portable and can be difficult for hospitals to integrate – requiring a dedicated team specifically trained for robot-assisted surgery and renovations to accommodate the surgical platforms, which weigh hundreds or thousands of pounds, take up vast amounts of space, and cost millions of dollars. With the increasing demand for minimally invasive surgery, hospitals will be further encumbered by the cost and lack of flexibility, accessibility, and integrability of existing robotics platforms.