Using robotics and telecommunications to conduct surgeries from remote locations can revolutionize the public health system and can extensively help patients who previously lacked access to the healthcare system.
In a big breakthrough, Indian doctor Tejas Patel performed the world’s first remote heart operation on a patient 20 miles (32Kms) away. The patient was a middle-aged woman with a 90% blocked arteries.
Dr. Patel said, “I am honored to have been a part of this medical milestone,”
“The application of telerobotics for remote treatment has the potential to impact a significant number of lives by providing access to specialized care that may not otherwise be possible.”
CorPath GRX robot
Dr. Patel and his colleagues used CorPath GRX robot developed by Corindus, to perform this heart surgery. This procedure is known as percutaneous coronary intervention, which is intended to open blood vessels in patients with atherosclerosis.
Surgeons have used this robot for performing similar procedure before also, but this is for the first time that the surgery was conducted from a remote location outside the operation theatre.
Dr. Patel said, “While remote robotic procedures are still in the early stages of development, it is clear we are on track to expand patients’ access to care, while reducing their time to treatment.”
