SS Innovations International, which focuses on the development of surgical robotic technologies, has announced the completion of the world’s first intercontinental robotic cardiac telesurgery.
The procedure was conducted over a distance exceeding 4,000 miles, from the Institute of Research Against Digestive Cancer (IRCAD) in Strasbourg, France, to the Sri Aurobindo Institute of Medical Sciences (SAIMS) in Indore, India.
Dr Sudhir Srivastava, Chairman and CEO of SS Innovations, performed the robotic atrial septal defect closure remotely using the company’s SSi Mantra 3 surgical robotic system.
He was supported by Dr Lalit Malik from Manipal Hospital, Jaipur, Dr Ram Krishna Shukla and Dr Bipin Arya from SAIMS, and teams from SS Innovations and SAIMS. Dr Husam H. Balkhy moderated the live telesurgery, ensuring a smooth process with no technical issues.
The SSi Mantra surgical robotic technology platform developed by SS Innovations aims to tackle traditional challenges associated with travel, time, cost, and surgical accessibility. Its advanced telesurgery capabilities are designed to establish a more efficient and equitable medical standard for both patients and surgeons.
Dr Srivastava said: “This historic achievement not only demonstrates the advanced capabilities of our SSi Mantra 3 surgical robotic system but also further paves the way for redefining and democratising global delivery of complex cardiac care, especially in regions with limited access to surgical expertise.”
To date, the SSi Mantra system has been used to perform 35 telesurgeries, including ten cardiac procedures, and a total of 250 cardiac surgeries. Overall, the system has facilitated over 5,000 multi-specialty surgeries without device-related complications.
Headquartered in India, SS Innovations has received regulatory approval from India’s Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) for both teleproctoring and telesurgery.
