In a first, Indian Surgeon uses robotic technology to conduct angioplasty
In a first, Dr Tejas Patel, a senior cardiologist from Gujarat, India has performed an angioplasty on a middle-aged woman, who was in the operating theatre of his Apex hospital, 32 km away, through the world’s first in-human telerobotic coronary intervention.
The procedure was carried out by an internet-enabled robotic arm at the cath lab in the operation theatre, which Dr Patel operated remotely. The procedure was driven out by cutting-edge technology. Recently, a woman had suffered a heart attack. Following that, a few days ago, she underwent an angioplasty to remove the blockage in an artery. The blockage in the other blood vessel was removed through this robotic procedure. “Telerobotics is a mix of telemedicine and robotics and has the potential to drastically change the way advance healthcare is delivered to patients in remote areas,” said Dr Patel.
“Today, the patient was 32km away, tomorrow, using the same technology, it will be possible for expert hands to operate on patients anywhere in the state, country and world. This has the power to transform coronary interventions in practice and beyond,” said Dr Patel after the surgery.
He added that the surgeons can cater to patients from anywhere if they are at a facility with a cath lab, a robotic arm and a reliable internet connection.
Dr Patel has performed about 300 robotic surgeries so far. He decided to experiment with the full-fledged live operation after more than two years of preparation. “Any new technology comes in the form of a concept and it is tested on animals and dummies. After completing these phases, we felt confident about the leap to in-human telerobotics for a procedure, after completing all the formalities,” he said.
Mark Toland, the CEO of US-based Corindus, the company that provided the technology for the surgery, said “This was the first ever minimal invasive catheter-based first ever minimal invasive catheter-based heart procedure in the world. With such technology, we can transfer the expertise of a surgeon such as Dr Patel within seconds to a patient who needs it.”
The first telerobotic surgery was performed in 2001 when a laparoscopic gallbladder procedure was performed from across the Atlantic.
Source: Times of India