Robotic surgery – digital technology that saves lives

Abstract

Background. The article is dedicated to the study of native and international robotic surgery develop¬ment as a revolutionary treatment technology. The article reveals the essence and advantages of surgical treatment using robots. The data provided indicate insufficient growth of the world market for robotic surgery, segmentation by country (in favor of highly developed countries) and monopolization. Materials and methods. The article is structured in theses with infographics, giving a complete picture of the main aspects. Results and discussion. The data analysis helped to identify the main trends and problems of ro¬botic technologies market in surgery. The key issue is the difference between the number of operations that can be possibly performed in robotic surgical technologies and their actual number. Based on the results of the analysis, there were formed promising directions and tasks for the development of robotic surgery and possible approaches to their implementation. In this study there were discussed the possibilities of training doctors and the prospects of the Russian robotic-assisting complex, as well as the paradoxical situation in the world of robotic surgery. The paradox is that despite the low level of market development, growing number of research works in the field of robotic-assisted surgery, its proven therapeutic efficacy and the high demand from behalf of the population and the surgical community, still there are problems that cannot be solved for the next 5 - 10 years. With a focus on the abdominal area, these problems are: high expenses; limited functionality of the robot; the lack of qualified doctors, training problems; unprofitable implementation of robotic surgery for clinics (in the business aspect). The development and implementa¬tion of robotic surgical techniques and technologies in Russia can significantly increase the availability and quality of medical care, and greatly advance the implementation of some projects in healthcare. At the same time, Moscow can initiate the development of robotic surgery in the country and in the world. Conclusion. It is important to fit the new surgical robots into the healthcare system, especially in terms of costs, and perform a large number of surgeries to increase payback. This requires the development and launch of the federal program “Robot surgery”.