Robot-assisted surgery expands in gynaecological procedures

MedTech News: Advanced robotic technology for gynaecological surgeries has been unveiled at a leading women’s health hospital, a first in Victoria.

Last year, LifeHealthcare in partnership with UK’s CMR Surgical (CMR), announced the Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) approval of the Versius Surgical System for use in gynaecological, urologic and general surgery laparoscopic procedures. Last week, the company announced more than 100 Versius systems installed globally.

Frances Perry House Gynaecologist, Dr Alex Ades said the robot can allow trained surgeons “more precision, more control and more comfort” during surgery.

While patients can still opt to have surgery laparoscopically, he said the robot is designed to offer patients “less pain, quicker recovery and a prompter return to work.”

A recent first-in-human interim safety analysis demonstrated that the Versius Surgical System is safe and can be used to successfully perform minor or intermediate gynaecological and general surgery procedures. This evidence supported the extension of the Versius clinical trial to recruit patients for major procedures.

Frances Perry House CEO, Shaune Gillespie, said with the addition of the Versius Robot and a new, fourth operating theatre, Frances Perry can now offer even more Victorian women access to leading, dedicated women’s health care services. 

“As a specialist women’s health care facility, we’re excited to be able to offer Victorian women access to leading robotic technology to perform minimally invasive gynaecological and urogynaecological surgical procedures,” Mr Gillespie said. 

“We are passionate about providing high quality care and better outcomes for our patients; the introduction of Versius combined with the development of our fourth theatre earlier in the year represents an exciting time for the Frances Perry team.

“I thank Ramsay Health Care for investing in advanced robotic technologies, and our facilities, to allow the team at Frances Perry House to offer patients treatment options that suit their needs.”  

Ariel Weinrebe, Division Manager of Robotics at LifeHealthcare said “Pleasing to see that the adoption of Verisus continues to expand across Australia, providing increased access to minimally invasive and robotic surgery in a variety of procedures. Congratulations to Frances Perry House and Ramsay for leading the way in Victoria implementing a successful Versius program.”

CMR Surgical has launched a data-led training programme for its Versius surgical robot system, with the intention of reducing overall training time and improving standardisation in surgical care.

The seven-step programme uses data-driven metrics and benchmarking to assess skill levels. This data is captured through the training technology tools and standard observational data, and supports personalised feedback.

As a result it is expected that learning curves will be shorter, minimising the cost and time for teams to become proficient.

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