Worldwide surgical robot markets are poised to achieve significant growth as next generation systems provide a way to improve traditional open surgery and decrease the number of ports needed for minimally invasive surgery.
Intuitive Surgical has market leadership position, advanced technology, an impressive installed base and a well trained group of surgeons able to manage the robots. Patients fare better when the surgery is done by surgical robots. The documentation of improvements in care delivery, the ability to ensure better outcomes from surgery promise that surgical robotics is a strong growth market.
Intuitive Surgical will be difficult to dislodge, its dominant position is based on technological excellence that keeps being improved and competitors have a difficult time catching up, much less improving on the Intuitive Surgical technology. Other leading competitors will emerge and the group of several surgical robotic companies will collectively have enough marketing dollars and enough marketing clout to drive replacement of all open surgery. Robotic surgery is positioned to become the standard of care.
Intuitive Surgical has achieved market saturation in colorectal surgery in the US, it will work on increasing its presence in other surgical market sectors. The leading robotic surgical companies are poised to grow through acquisition, purchasing smaller companies that have developed as specialized product and gained FDA approval. As detailed in the market research study there are a lot of those in every medical specialty and more to come.
The surgical robot market is characterized enormous variety and innovation.
Snake robots are wonderfully interesting surgical robots. Medrobotics offers a highly articulated multi-linked robot. It enables minimally-invasive procedures to replace open surgical procedures. It works for many parts of the anatomy. It works in places in the body that are difficult or previously impossible to reach. The robot-assist platform includes on-board visualization. and contains multiple open device channels to accept a variety of third party surgical and interventional instruments. The robot enables physicians to operate through non-linear circuitous paths, self-supported, and through a single-site access into the body.
The maneuverability of the robot is gained from its numerous mechanical linkages with concentric mechanisms. Each mechanism can be placed into a rigid or a limp state. By employing a patented “follow-the-leader” movement strategy with these alternating states, the robot can be directed into any shape through the relative orientations of its linkages.
In the field of radiation oncology, the Accuray CyberKnife® Robotic Radiosurgery System is universally recognized as the premier radiosurgery system capable of delivering high doses of radiation with sub-millimeter accuracy anywhere in the body. As validated and proven in numerous peer-reviewed publications, the precision and accuracy of the system combines with continual image guidance and robotic mobility to deliver treatments characterized by high conformality and steep dose gradients.
The newest addition to the CyberKnife product line, the CyberKnife VSI™ System, continues Accuray’s tradition of innovation. Building on a foundation of accuracy and precision in radiosurgery, the CyberKnife VSI System extends these benefits to fractionated high precision radiation therapy with Robotic IMRT™ that can be delivered anywhere in the body.
During a robot assisted surgical procedure, the patient-side cart is positioned next to the operating table with the electromechanical arms arranged to provide access to the initial ports selected by the surgeon. Metal tubes attached to the arms are inserted through the ports, and the cutting and visualization instruments are introduced through the tubes into the patient’s body.
Compared with other minimally invasive surgery approaches, robot-assisted surgery gives the surgeon better control over the surgical instruments and a better view of the surgical site. Surgeons no longer have to stand throughout the surgery and do not tire as quickly. Hand tremors are filtered out by the robot’s computer software. The surgical robot can continuously be used by rotating surgery teams.
Surgical robot device markets at $3.2 billion in 2014 are anticipated to reach $20 billion by 2021 as next generation devices, systems, and instruments are introduced to manage surgery through small ports in the body instead of large open wounds.
