Intuitive, the pioneer of robotic-assisted surgery, has announced that the usability of many of its da Vinci instruments has been extended through innovation and design improvements within its 4th generation technology.
This means that the most common instruments used by its most advanced da Vinci X and Xi systems can be used in 12 to 18 surgical procedures, beyond their current 10-use limit.
The innovation will reduce the cost-per-use of these instruments without compromising on safety or performance, with an average reduction of 24% in price-per-use for each instrument.
David Marante, Regional Director of Intuitive UK&I, said: “At Intuitive we’re committed to providing solutions to meet the clinical and economic needs of the NHS, and to supporting its surgical community in lowering the total cost of care as we strive to advance minimally invasive care that addresses the long-term needs to improve patient outcomes.”
Since the introduction of the da Vinci Xi surgical system in 2014, Intuitive has continuously developed the instrument design and material based on the application data of the instruments. This has led to improved instrument reliability of selected instruments and now allows a higher number of procedures. Instruments included in the programme are used across a number of da Vinci surgeries. These innovations will reduce the cost for customers to treat patients.
Since the pandemic hit the UK, Intuitive has supported the NHS to safely restart robotic-assisted surgeries and expand access to systems so that more patients could benefit from minimally invasive surgery during the pandemic and beyond.
Where appropriate, Intuitive worked with hospitals to relocate da Vinci systems to safer sites with a reduced Covid-19 risk, and also launched its customer relief effort shortly after the pandemic began, that offered customers a credit on their service for not using their systems, and offering reworked financial terms and lower-cost access to additional systems to help customers address procedure backlogs.
Intuitive’s efforts to help customers are aligned to the Quadruple Aim: better outcomes for patients, improved experiences for the surgeons and care teams using our equipment, and all at lower costs going forward to bring these minimally invasive benefits to more people.
