Surgibot

Jacqueline Ray
Period C
4/28/17

Surgibot

Surgibot is expected to be part of the next wave of surgical technology.  TransEnterix, a company that produces medical devices, is looking to get their device FDA approved for use in surgery.  While the system is not available in any market at the current moment, elements of the system shows promise of making its way into the operating room.

The Surgibot system is designed to conduct minimally invasive surgery.  This surgical device is unlike any other because it allows for multiple surgical instruments to be inserted into the incision.  The device is controlled by a surgeon.  The creation of this device shows promise in the future of biomedical engineering, but this is not without its drawbacks.

While the technology behind Surgibot is more advanced than previous surgical robots, it is slow to come to market.  In order  to be used, it must be approved by the Food and Drug Administration.  In April of last year, the product experienced major setbacks when it was rejected by the FDA.  This is because it failed to meet the standard of "substantial equivalence." In order for it to ever reach the market, it must go through extensive clinical testing.

It will be a long time before any robots like surgibot will ever meet the market.  Due to the nature of the device, there will be many obstacles with getting it approved because a mistake in its design may inevitably cost lives.

Despite its setbacks, the approval of surgibot by the FDA, or a similar robot, is inevitable.  Its approval is sure to start a new wave of technology to improve surgery as we know it.