The procedure on a 41 year-old patient from Palermo, Italy was a complete success. It is expected that the patient will be discharged within 24 hours, and will be able to return to normal activity within 3 days. The minimally invasive robotically assisted approach, practiced by the surgeons, will reduce the pain and trauma to the patient, and will allow him to recover much quicker than using a traditional "open" surgical approach.
Dr. Moshe Rubin stated, "Although I was physically thousands of miles distant from the patient, I felt truly as if I were present in the operating room. I was able to participate in the progress of the case, and I am very grateful to Prof. Huscher for this chance to collaborate using this new technology."
Prof. Huscher stated, "The ability to include peers and mentors in these advanced robotic cases will certainly bring many more physicians the confidence they need to adopt the minimally invasive approach. Learning is a constant requirement of the life of every physician today, and the experience of telepresence is a wonderful new way for surgeons to learn."
John Soto, Computer Motion's Vice President and General Manager, Operations for Europe, Middle East, and Africa, stated, "The ability of SOCRATES to deliver telepresence and allow surgeons from remote locations to telementor and telecollaborate is a key differentiator of Computer Motion's system of products. Remote education and training significantly aids the rapid adoption of robotic technology by collapsing time and space, and allows surgeons to further disseminate their expertise worldwide in a telepresent fashion."
The SOCRATES Robotic Telecollaboration System is an integrated system of telecommunication equipment, networked surgical devices, and robotics that provides an efficient and economical pathway to enable remote mentoring and surgical collaboration. SOCRATES allows a surgeon located at a remote site to assist another surgeon who may be located in an operating room down the hall, across the country or on the other side of the world.
Computer Motion, Inc. (Nasdaq: RBOT), the world's leading developer of surgical robotic systems serving over 900 customers and 3,000 surgeons in 32 countries, today announced that Dr. Moshe Rubin at Rabin Medical Center Hospital in Tel Aviv Israel used the SOCRATESª Robotic Telecollaboration System during a procedure performed by Prof. Cristiano Huscher at S. Giovanni Hospital in Rome, Italy. The SOCRATES System enabled telepresence allowed Dr. Moshe Rubin to share control of the AESOP¨ Robotic Endoscope Positioner, to visually annotate the surgical image during the procedure, and to monitor the status of additional medial devices.