Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust is to work in partnership with CMR Surgical to install their modular surgical robot Versius for use in the hospital’s thoracic operating theatres.
With its ability to mimic human arm joints, with up to four times more rotation than the human wrist, Versius provides “minimum access surgery with enhanced accuracy and control for complex procedures”.
It is powered by a digitally native ecosystem, with CMR Surgical describing how the robot provides the ability “to gather robotic telemetry data and procedural case videos, supported by clinical context information from the CMR Registry.” By combining this data, users can examine the “full clinical story of each procedure” and “analyse every aspect of your clinical cases to help inform better decision making, while supporting your continuous learning and development.” The Versius Connect platform provides a gateway for users into the digital ecosystem, supporting users in accessing the data through a real-time digital logbook for each Versius case.
Versius also features a portable design to enable use across different theatres and potentially different specialities.
Staff at Royal Papworth are to undergo a comprehensive training programme on the system, which will include virtual reality technology, remote telemonitoring, and in-person training.
Mark Slack, chief medical officer at CMR Surgical, has commented: “Versius is well-suited to thoracic surgery as it allows optimal access through the rib cage, and the small fully-wristed instruments can work precisely in the thoracic cavity.”
Royal Papworth has described the use of the Versius robot in their thoracic surgery as “a UK first”, with consultant thoracic surgeon and clinical lead for thoracic surgery Adam Peryt stating: “Our patients from across the East of England and beyond who need lung surgery in the future will benefit from this collaboration. It also benefits our operating theatre staff, who will be trained on cutting-edge technology to drive forward outcomes and recovery times for our patients.”
