Asensus Surgical said it is finding a niche in the surgical robotics market by targeting pediatric procedures.
The post Asensus Surgical completes gallbladder removal on 16-year-old appeared first on The Robot Report.
The Senhance system is designed to work with 5 and 3-mm instruments. | Source: Asensus Robotics
Rev, a 16-year-old from Aurora, Colo., last year became to first patient to be operated on by a remotely controlled Senhance robot at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. After the removal of his gallbladder with the Asensus Surgical system, Rev was discharged that afternoon. Just two days later, the teenager was out of the hospital and dancing at his prom.
In the past, common procedures such as gallbladder removal could mean a night or more in the hospital, and weeks of painful recovery. Now, systems like the one from Asensus Surgical promise to make them faster, less invasive, and safer. In addition, the company is bringing this technology to pediatrics, a notoriously tricky area for surgeons.
Dr. Steve Rothenberg, the surgeon who performed the procedure, said his patients can weigh anywhere from less than 1 lb. to over 250 lbs.
“There’s a huge range of patients that I have to deal with,” he told The Robot Report. “I specialize specifically in minimally invasive surgery in small infants and children. I have spent most of my career trying to develop instrumentation to work in that space.”
The procedure at Rocky Mountain Hospital included Senhance’s reusable 3 mm instrumentation, which designed to safely and efficiently meet the needs of pediatric patients’ small anatomy. The company also equipped the robot with a 5 mm camera scope, haptic feedback, and advanced clinical intelligence, allowing the surgeon to perform the procedure in a control center mere feet away from the operating table.
“[The Senhance system] is a soft-tissue, abdominal, multi-port surgical system,” explained Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus. “It sets itself apart in a few areas. One around haptic feedback and the use of three-millimeter instruments. It’s probably the only system on the market today with those small instruments. Another differentiator is the use of real-time, augmented intelligence.”
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Asensus targets pediatric surgeries
Rothenberg has over 20 years of experience working with surgical robots. In that time, he said he struggled to find a system that can meet the unique demands of pediatrics. That is, until he learned about the Senhance system.
“I was intrigued by the fact that they could use smaller instrumentation,” Rothenberg said. “I liked that it was an open platform, meaning that not only can the surgeon sit and look at the console that he’s operating, but he can also see the patient.”
In contrast, other surgical robots put surgeons at a hooded console where they’re not able to directly see the patient. Rothenberg also noted that Senhance is easier to maneuver around if something doesn’t go according to plan during surgery.
“As opposed to having this giant, sort of octopus that comes over and makes it difficult to access our smaller patients, these robotic arms come in separately,” he said. “So, it’s very easy to get at the patient while the robot is engaged.”
Rothenberg said that he is starting with teenagers and other larger patients and relatively simple procedures. As the physician gets more familiar with the robot, he plans to operate on smaller patients with more complex surgeries.
“It’s exciting to have a company that’s focused on pediatric surgery that has listened to what we feel our issues and needs are, and is willing to work towards those,” Rothenberg said.
Tackling the ‘learning curve’ of surgical robots
Asensus Surgical said that Senhance comes with a range of tools that surgeons can use while they’re operating. For example, the system can track where the surgeon is looking and direct the camera to those areas.
“Normally when I do standard laparoscopic surgery, I have to have an assistant who runs the laparoscopic camera for me,” said Rothenberg. “Even in other robotic systems, where the camera is hooked up to a robotic arm, you need to clutch and unclutch to take over that camera and move it around. With this system, I’m actually able to do it with my eyes, so I can maintain my hands on my two instruments,” Rothenberg said.
“I look where I want the telescope to look, and it goes right there,” he added. “It’s quite an amazing thing. I can make fine adjustments while I’m operating.”
Such features could give surgeons more control. Previously, physicians had to move their hands between instruments and camera controls, but now, they can do up to three things simultaneously. Asensus acknowledged that this creates a learning curve for physicians.
“The learning curve is how do we use all the additional features in the best and most efficient way,” Fernando said. “That takes some practice.”
“The learning curve is learning how to position the robot, how to get the arms just right where it works for that procedure. Some things we change because of the different ways the robot looks at things,” Rothenberg said. “Sometimes we use angled scopes in the robot, but we’re tending to use more straight scopes.”
Asensus plans for second-generation system
Fernando told The Robot Report that the Senhance is a first-generation system. “The intent of the first generation product was to really get feedback from the market and to understand where the needs are and what the opportunities are,” he said.
Asensus didn’t want the system to just be a “research exercise,” asserted Fernando. Instead, the company wanted to work with surgeons in real clinical settings. It started targeting pediatrics based on the responses it gained from surgeons in the field, and the company has found a niche there.
“This is a few years out, but all of these experiences and feedback have gone into creating the second-generation platform,” Fernando said. “This is yet another step above what we currently have, especially innovating on instrumentation.”
Asensus is continuing to get feedback from physicians as it develops its next-generation system. Fernando said the company has data on more than 90% of the 15,000 cases Senhance has participated in so far.
“I love it when a company talks to you when they’re in the process of designing things, as opposed to designing something and then bringing it to you after the fact and then trying to make modifications. It’s so much better,” Rothenberg said.
Moving forward, Rothenberg said he hopes that systems like Asensus can act similarly to an ADAS in a car by preventing the surgeon from making mistakes.
“Surgeons today are not getting as much broad experience as I did during my training, for a lot of reasons. So, hopefully, we’re able to put a bigger brain in the robot to help them do cases and increase their experience level,” Rothenberg said.
The post Asensus Surgical completes gallbladder removal on 16-year-old appeared first on The Robot Report.
The Senhance system is designed to work with 5 and 3-mm instruments. | Source: Asensus Robotics
Rev, a 16-year-old from Aurora, Colo., last year became to first patient to be operated on by a remotely controlled Senhance robot at the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children. After the removal of his gallbladder with the Asensus Surgical system, Rev was discharged that afternoon. Just two days later, the teenager was out of the hospital and dancing at his prom.
In the past, common procedures such as gallbladder removal could mean a night or more in the hospital, and weeks of painful recovery. Now, systems like the one from Asensus Surgical promise to make them faster, less invasive, and safer. In addition, the company is bringing this technology to pediatrics, a notoriously tricky area for surgeons.
Dr. Steve Rothenberg, the surgeon who performed the procedure, said his patients can weigh anywhere from less than 1 lb. to over 250 lbs.
“There’s a huge range of patients that I have to deal with,” he told The Robot Report. “I specialize specifically in minimally invasive surgery in small infants and children. I have spent most of my career trying to develop instrumentation to work in that space.”
The procedure at Rocky Mountain Hospital included Senhance’s reusable 3 mm instrumentation, which designed to safely and efficiently meet the needs of pediatric patients’ small anatomy. The company also equipped the robot with a 5 mm camera scope, haptic feedback, and advanced clinical intelligence, allowing the surgeon to perform the procedure in a control center mere feet away from the operating table.
“[The Senhance system] is a soft-tissue, abdominal, multi-port surgical system,” explained Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus. “It sets itself apart in a few areas. One around haptic feedback and the use of three-millimeter instruments. It’s probably the only system on the market today with those small instruments. Another differentiator is the use of real-time, augmented intelligence.”
Register today to save 40% on conference passes!
Asensus targets pediatric surgeries
Rothenberg has over 20 years of experience working with surgical robots. In that time, he said he struggled to find a system that can meet the unique demands of pediatrics. That is, until he learned about the Senhance system.
“I was intrigued by the fact that they could use smaller instrumentation,” Rothenberg said. “I liked that it was an open platform, meaning that not only can the surgeon sit and look at the console that he’s operating, but he can also see the patient.”
In contrast, other surgical robots put surgeons at a hooded console where they’re not able to directly see the patient. Rothenberg also noted that Senhance is easier to maneuver around if something doesn’t go according to plan during surgery.
“As opposed to having this giant, sort of octopus that comes over and makes it difficult to access our smaller patients, these robotic arms come in separately,” he said. “So, it’s very easy to get at the patient while the robot is engaged.”
Rothenberg said that he is starting with teenagers and other larger patients and relatively simple procedures. As the physician gets more familiar with the robot, he plans to operate on smaller patients with more complex surgeries.
“It’s exciting to have a company that’s focused on pediatric surgery that has listened to what we feel our issues and needs are, and is willing to work towards those,” Rothenberg said.
Tackling the ‘learning curve’ of surgical robots
Asensus Surgical said that Senhance comes with a range of tools that surgeons can use while they’re operating. For example, the system can track where the surgeon is looking and direct the camera to those areas.
“Normally when I do standard laparoscopic surgery, I have to have an assistant who runs the laparoscopic camera for me,” said Rothenberg. “Even in other robotic systems, where the camera is hooked up to a robotic arm, you need to clutch and unclutch to take over that camera and move it around. With this system, I’m actually able to do it with my eyes, so I can maintain my hands on my two instruments,” Rothenberg said.
“I look where I want the telescope to look, and it goes right there,” he added. “It’s quite an amazing thing. I can make fine adjustments while I’m operating.”
Such features could give surgeons more control. Previously, physicians had to move their hands between instruments and camera controls, but now, they can do up to three things simultaneously. Asensus acknowledged that this creates a learning curve for physicians.
“The learning curve is how do we use all the additional features in the best and most efficient way,” Fernando said. “That takes some practice.”
“The learning curve is learning how to position the robot, how to get the arms just right where it works for that procedure. Some things we change because of the different ways the robot looks at things,” Rothenberg said. “Sometimes we use angled scopes in the robot, but we’re tending to use more straight scopes.”
Asensus plans for second-generation system
Fernando told The Robot Report that the Senhance is a first-generation system. “The intent of the first generation product was to really get feedback from the market and to understand where the needs are and what the opportunities are,” he said.
Asensus didn’t want the system to just be a “research exercise,” asserted Fernando. Instead, the company wanted to work with surgeons in real clinical settings. It started targeting pediatrics based on the responses it gained from surgeons in the field, and the company has found a niche there.
“This is a few years out, but all of these experiences and feedback have gone into creating the second-generation platform,” Fernando said. “This is yet another step above what we currently have, especially innovating on instrumentation.”
Asensus is continuing to get feedback from physicians as it develops its next-generation system. Fernando said the company has data on more than 90% of the 15,000 cases Senhance has participated in so far.
“I love it when a company talks to you when they’re in the process of designing things, as opposed to designing something and then bringing it to you after the fact and then trying to make modifications. It’s so much better,” Rothenberg said.
Moving forward, Rothenberg said he hopes that systems like Asensus can act similarly to an ADAS in a car by preventing the surgeon from making mistakes.
“Surgeons today are not getting as much broad experience as I did during my training, for a lot of reasons. So, hopefully, we’re able to put a bigger brain in the robot to help them do cases and increase their experience level,” Rothenberg said.
The post Asensus Surgical completes gallbladder removal on 16-year-old appeared first on The Robot Report.