The robotic surgery market is growing at a steady pace. Considering its current growth rate, the latest reports indicate a value that will continue to increase over the next 10 years. Specifically, GlobalData predicts that the value of the surgical robotics market could reach $7.2 billion by 2033, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.7%.
In fact, the Basque public health system, Osakidetza, performs around 2,000 spinal operations every year, and at the Hospital Universitario Donostia alone, around 250 patients per year undergo surgery for some type of spinal ailment. Due to the constant growth in this sector, Cyber Surgery wanted to ask two of the doctors collaborating with our company, how they see the future. These surgeons are on top of the latest updates and innovations in spinal robotic systems on the market, so we asked them if we are close to the operating rooms of the future, where doctors and robotic technology will interact on a daily basis.
Robotics to Meet the Needs of Patients and Surgeons
For this future to finally become a reality in every operating room around the world, there is one thing that all surgeons agree on. Surgical robotics must meet the needs of surgeons while also benefiting patients. And when it comes to spinal procedures, those needs are very specific.
For Nicolás Samprón, Neurosurgeon at the Hospital Universitario Donostia, the requirements for a spinal surgery robot are clear: “Precision, reliability, and time-efficiency.” These are three fundamental criteria that robotic surgery not only meets but also outperforms conventional surgery. In fact, as Dr. Samprón states, the greatest advantage of using robots in this type of procedure is that “we can increase the safety and efficiency of the surgery”. This is achievable through pre-planning the surgery, studying the case beforehand, and relying on the robot’s precision and assistance.
The ability to faithfully reproduce the planned procedure without deviation and with reduced risks is critical to improving surgical outcomes, which are fundamental requirements for ALAYA Spine. This is also one of the main advantages for Dr. Iñigo Pomposo, Neurosurgeon at the Hospital Universitario Cruces. He emphasizes that “It is essential that the planning software is user-friendly allowing a fast execution which implies a reduction of surgery time. Secondly, once in the OR, it must be ergonomic and not interfere with the medical staff and equipment. And lastly, from the technical point of view, precision and accuracy are a must”.
The Evolution of Robotics in Spinal Surgery
There is no doubt that more and more steps are being taken to incorporate robotics in hospitals. While it is true that there are specialties in which the use of robotics is more advanced, spine surgery is one of those specialties that has made the greatest progress in recent years. This is due to the need for less invasive procedures for the patient and greater precision, to achieve a better and faster recovery. But even so, there is still a long way to go before there is a robot in the OR for every spine surgery. So we wonder, will robots be a reality in spinal procedures in the coming years?
For Dr. Samprón, it will not be something disruptive that happens overnight, but rather, in his own words: “The implementation of robots and the transition to this type of OR will take place progressively in the spine surgery sector”. The main reason for this gradual implementation in the ORs is that, up until now, the prices of these systems have been very high, and not all hospitals can afford them.
In this sense, according to Dr. Pomposo, “the evolution towards the future could involve not having so many centers with so many specialties and concentrating some procedures only in a reference group of high technology centers”.
To accelerate the adoption of robots in ORs, Cyber Surgery aims to develop a modular system capable of being used in a variety of surgical applications and specialties. In fact, ALAYA Spine robotic assistant is expected to be in the market by September of 2024 offering a variety of business models to promote and facilitate the incorporation of this high-technology equipment in reference European hospitals.
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