Intuitive India introduces a new remote learning technology for surgeons

Bengaluru: Intuitive India, the India arm of Intuitive, a global technology leader in minimally invasive care and the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery (RAS), has launched India’s first remote surgical case observation technology, ‘Intuitive Telepresence’ (ITP). This technology enables surgeons to learn from expert surgeons without the need for travel or time away from their busy practice.

The ITP uses proprietary technology that enables real-time exchange of audio and video between the remote observer and the operating surgeon. Through this, observers can be virtually present in the  operating room (OR) where a procedure with a da Vinci system is being performed.  ITP technology is HIPPA (The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant which provides a secure platform for remote learning on da Vinci Robotic platform.

Commenting on the launch of Intuitive Telepresence, Mandeep Singh Kumar, Vice President and General Manager, Intuitive India, said, “At Intuitive, we pride ourselves as a patient-first company. We work in close coordination with clinicians, hospitals, and medical/surgical societies to uncover the benefits of da Vinci technology in enabling life enhancing care and allowing physicians to heal without constraints. We believe that Intuitive Telepresence solution will support additional case observation and proctoring opportunities In India for surgeons involved in robotic-assisted surgery. Surgeons who are new to robotic-assisted surgery will be able to access expertise from surgeons anywhere in the world, reducing the need for physical travel while maintaining a high-quality information exchange. Our continuous endeavour is to utilise the latest technological innovations in support of continuous learning for our surgeons with a potential for improving clinical outcomes.”

Over the past two decades, as evidenced in over 24,000 peer reviewed publications, robotic-assisted surgery with da Vinci technology has revolutionized minimally-invasive surgery, with a potential to improve clinical outcomes in several surgical procedures. Much of the benefit that robotics brings to a surgeon is about vision, precision and control. It enables a three-dimensional view of the procedure, the ability to use fluorescence technologies to see the surgical field in much greater detail, and the control of instruments to operate in tight spaces.

India currently has more than 500 trained surgeons who are adept in RAS surgeries in their respective therapy areas. The adoption of robotic-assisted surgery by Indian surgeons has been very strong over the last few years, with several leading hospitals across the country offering this surgical approach to patients. For a population of India’s size, this remains a relatively low number and there is a strong need to aid the training of new surgeons and the continued upskilling of already trained surgeons in robotic-assisted surgery. The ITP solution will address this need by allowing surgeons to learn from the experience and expertise of their colleagues, to continuously improve their surgical skills.

With increased adoption of virtual ways of working since the spread of Covid-19, Intuitive has, with the ITP, reimagined continuous learning for surgeons by providing this seamless and secure platform to help bring learning to the surgeons—rather than asking them always travel for advanced training.

Intuitive has been running programmes such as the Intuitive Robotic Onboarding Programme and Education (I-ROPE) and the Roving Robot Programme in a continued effort to support strong robotics programs throughout India. Intuitive provides robust technical training and support to surgeons in India throughout their careers – from initial exposure to the technology to more advanced training, ensuring that they have the technical skills and experience necessary to perform the procedure using the da Vinci surgical system.