The Surgical Robot Marketplace: Systems on the Horizon

Since the first da Vinci robotic surgical system launched in 2000, robotic-assisted surgery has been mostly associated with Intuitive Surgical. Despite Intuitive's dominance, other companies have entered—or are trying to enter—the surgical robotics marketplace for general-purpose and laparoendoscopic single-site (LESS) surgery, which is a surgical approach involving a single skin incision through which the procedure is performed. Once this competition takes a firmer seat, it could likely serve to drive the cost of robotic-assisted surgery down, via lower operating and per-procedure costs. This could potentially allow smaller hospitals with fewer resources to implement robotic-assisted surgery programs.

In November 2019, Avateramedical received the CE Mark for its Avatera system, intended for use in minimally invasive gynecologic and urologic procedures. The company refers to the system as "The German Robot." Avateramedical also plans to launch the product in Europe. The Avatera consists of a console with footswitch and eyepieces, and a cart with...