In the age of coronavirus, an operating room isn’t exactly the easiest place to follow social distancing guidelines!

As is the case in all walks of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced medical device and healthcare professionals to re-evaluate day-to-day practices. We have already seen a surge in telemedicine, and many wonder if telesurgery is right behind.

Robot-assisted surgeries have already been an emerging technology. The benefits of course are vast - from more maneuverability and access to greater accuracy, precision, and repeatability, not to mention the potential for improved patient outcomes. Clinically, driving forces include the benefits of smaller incisions, decreased blood loss, shorter hospital stays, and lower incidence of surgical complications. The technology also has the potential to overcome a shortage of surgeons and long-distance travel complications.

Most companies anticipate a decline in revenue in the short term, however, as elective surgeries resume and the technology continues to grow and become more readily available, the longer-term revenue trends appear promising.

Following a unprecedented $1.65B investment in 2013, Stryker’s Mako robot is leading the way with joint replacements. In 2019, Mako knee procedures saw a bump of about 66% and reported it's strongest robot quarter in 2019 Q4. Zimmer Biomet’s ROSA knee system received FDA clearance in January 2019, and per CEO Bryan Hanson, “just a couple of quarters into this launch…we’re really seeing acceleration of focus in this area.” Medtronic’s Mazor X Stealth Edition experienced a double-digit increase to more than 60 percent spine surgeries in 2019 Q4. Globus Medical’s ExcelsiusGPS boasts as the world’s first revolutionary robotic navigation platform. The list goes on…

“Our goal is to use innovation to help standardize procedures and improve patient outcomes. It’s not about adding technology because we can. It’s about using technology to create better clinical and economic options for hospitals, surgeons, and patients.“

- Megan Rosengarten, General Manager and VP of Surgical Robotics - Medtronic Minimally Invasive Therapies Group

The first telesurgery involving a human patient was performed nearly two decades ago. The patient, located in Strasbourg, France, had a laparoscopic cholecystectomy performed by a surgeon over 3500 miles away in New York! Efforts in the field had since been stymied due to slow robotic and unreliable network connections. However, there is now a higher degree of optimism that by using 5G network technology, telesurgery may gain even more traction and can revolutionize healthcare. The first 5G telesurgery was successfully performed this summer, and according to the Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, 5G is expected to reduce the second latency period from 0.27 to 0.01 seconds!

The next decade promises for exciting developments….perhaps this will be a more welcome “new norm”!

- Craig