Healthcare technology firm Medtronic has announced the first clinical procedure in Europe with its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system.
Professor and Dr Alexandre Mottrie, the head of urology at OLV Hospital in Aalst of Belgium, has performed the first surgery with the Hugo RAS system.
In a statement, Dr Mottrie said: “With more than two decades and 4,000 robotic-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am intimately aware of the barriers that have kept the benefits of surgical robotics from physicians, hospitals, and patients. Now, I believe we are entering a new era filled with greater access and flexibility.”
Last year, the company announced the use of the Hugo system in urologic and gynaecologic procedures in Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
The procedures and cases in Europe are part of the Hugo RAS system patient registry that obtains clinical data to facilitate regulatory submissions across the world.
Medtronic medical surgical portfolio’s surgical robotics business president Megan Rosengarten said: “Dr Mottrie has left a meaningful mark on our program over the many years we’ve worked together, and now, through our partnership with OLV, Medtronic’s journey to bring the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to more patients in Europe is well underway.”
Medtronic has designed the Hugo RAS system as a modular and multi-quadrant platform for use in a range of soft-tissue procedures.
The system integrates wristed instruments, 3D visualisation, and cloud-based surgical video capture and management solution called Touch Surgery Enterprise. It also takes the support of teams with expertise in robotics programme, optimisation, service and training.
In October last year, Medtronic secured CE mark approval for the Hugo RAS system in the European Union region.
The Hugo RAS system also has a medical device licence in Canada. It is an investigational device in the US and Australia.
