Rob Surgical’s venue in El Prat, Barcelona, was the setting for the company’s 2023 Olympics. A day with multiple sports activities such as soccer matches, tennis, badminton, etc.
This action is one of those promoted by the same Rob Surgical team, which internally and proactively wants to promote, encourage and share its commitment to the United Nations SDGs. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is made up of 17 integrated and indivisible objectives that cover the economic, social and environmental spheres. They aim to act in favor of people, the planet and prosperity, strengthening universal peace and access to justice.
This action is especially linked to Sustainable Development Goal 3 (SDG 3), which refers to health and well-being.
The event concluded with a barbecue where the entire Rob Surgical team was able to strengthen ties, create community and share impressions. The informal and friendly atmosphere of the meeting favors cooperation between team members and creates bonds between different teams.
The entire Rob Surgical team has a firm commitment to sustainable development and was very proactive to make the day a success. Given the good acceptance, it is expected that the “Rob Surgical Olympics” will be held in new editions. Likewise, the initiative includes activities aimed at visualizing the team’s willingness to work to generate a positive impact on the planet and people.
Todd Usen’s visit to Barcelona and the Rob Surgical facilities was a day to share knowledge, experience and talent among the different members of the team: committee, engineers, technicians, surgeons… We took the opportunity to talk with Todd Usen, leader from the Board of Directors of Rob Surgical, and learn about his vision for the company, future plans and the role of robotic surgery.
Todd Usen, leader of the Board of Directors of Rob Surgical, visited the company’s facilities in Barcelona. After meeting with the team and attending the live operations carried out by the Bitrack robotic system, we spoke with him to learn about his impressions and challenges.
The purpose of universalizing precision surgery includes the distribution and installation of the Bitrack surgical robot in the greatest number of hospitals possible, including highly complex ones, medium-sized hospitals and even essential specialty centers.
Following the company’s confirmation of the marketing and production plan for 2025, which includes the manufacturing and installation of 50 units of the surgical platform in hospitals throughout Europe, we spoke with Jaume Amat, CEO of Rob Surgical, to find out how the surgical robot will benefit to hospitals.
Hello Jaume, what benefits does the Bitrack robot mean for hospitals?
The fact that the Bitrack System is an open platform allows entry costs to be drastically reduced. Hospitals do not need to have equipment restricted solely by robotic procedures. They do not need “dedicated” equipment just for surgical robotics. On the other hand, the greater flexibility that the concept of hybrid surgery gives us means that hospitals can increase the ratio of surgeries per operating room per day.
The last important point is the instruments. Unlike other systems, we have developed a collection of disposable robotic instruments. This allows hospitals to eliminate the logistical costs of cleaning and sterilizing instruments and improve stock control.
Transporting and installing the robot through the operating rooms may seem very tedious, is it really like that?
There are robotic systems that are made up of up to 6 elements… In our case the system is only made up of two elements: robot and console. This reduction makes it easier for the robot to be changed and moved from one operating room to another much more easily. It also facilitates the different configurations of the operating room depending on the different surgical procedures.
Thanks to the mobility advantages of the robot, is Bitrack intended only for large hospitals or does it also adapt to medium and small-sized hospitals?
Today, we have limited surgical robotics in large public reference hospitals or in private centers where they have a very limited and specific use. The current direct and indirect costs of robotic systems mean that their use is limited to very specific surgeries and that their use is still very limited.
Once again, the combined advantages of an open platform such as Bitrack and the hybrid surgery concept make it possible to expand the real use foreseen by this system, increase its utilization, thus improving amortization ratios and making it easier for many more patients to benefit from a precision tool such as surgical robotics.
Now that we know that Bitrack is also suitable for installation in medium-sized hospitals, what will the arrival of robotics mean to these centers?
Bringing robotics to the network of medium-sized public and private hospitals has important advantages.
First, it helps decentralize health systems by allowing medium-sized hospitals to increase the complexity of their portfolio of surgical services.
Secondly, the robot, as well as other innovative equipment, is a very good tool to attract and retain talent in this segment of hospitals.
Lastly and most importantly, it standardizes the medical service offered by health systems in each of the territories so that precision tools are not limited only to large hospitals.
Time savings is also one of the notable advantages of the Bitrack robot. How much preparation time is necessary from the moment the robot enters the operating room until the operation can begin?
Historically, the set-up processes of robotic systems and the assembly processes of the robot inside the abdominal cavity required a lot of time and a lot of experience.
We have designed a system that allows the commissioning and coupling of the system to the patient to be carried out very quickly and intuitively. We have reduced the time very significantly and in only 30 seconds per arm we have the system attached to the patient.
What phase of the project is the Bitrack robot in?
The project is in the final stretch of the certification process. We have already carried out a first study with patients that was a success. No adverse effects were recorded and the evaluations we received from the surgeons and all the staff that made up the surgical team were very good. The surgeries allowed us to demonstrate the safety of the system, as well as its effectiveness. It also allowed us to validate in a real environment all the usability improvements that the system incorporates.
Thank you very much for your time, Jaume.
The Bitrack robot, which benefits hospitals with cost reduction and time efficiency, is designed to universalize precision surgery, reaching highly complex hospitals, but also medium-sized ones.
