Robotic Surgery

Medtech Insight sat down with Intuitive Surgical CEO Gary Guthart at the recent LSI USA conference to discuss the full launch of the new da Vinci 5 robotic system and planned digital enhancements. Guthart also offered his views on health care interoperability, AI regulation, outpatient surgeries, autonomous robots, and how the company is harnessing technology to shape the future of robotic surgery.

A new study by AcuityMD, presented at AAOS 2025, highlights the continued shift of spinal surgeries to the outpatient setting, with state-by-state variability in ASC adoption. While hospitals still dominate spinal procedures, advancements in minimally invasive techniques and medical technologies are major drivers of spinal surgeries in the ASC setting.

Stryker is selling its $700m spinal implants business to Viscogliosi Brothers, forming a new entity VB Spine, which will maintain a strong partnership with Stryker. The company also reported strong Q4 financials and announced a CFO transition.

Jerome Trividic, CEO of Swiss company Spineart, believes that by solving pain points felt by orthopedic surgeons performing spinal procedures, it can improve patient outcomes. He thinks the firm’s innovative approach, which focuses on partnership deals as well as developing its own products, will give it a competitive edge in the spinal surgery market.

This week, Zimmer Biomet announced a new role of chief movement officer for Arnold Schwarzenegger, J&J MedTech receives IDE approval for Ottava, Dassault Systèmes with US FDA develop first guide for virtual twins, Mainz Biomed and Thermo Fisher team up to fight colorectal cancer.

France’s medtech sector is strong, growing and innovative. Medtech Insight spoke to several French medtech leaders about the unique features and pitfalls their industry may face.

This week, Hologic announced it would pay $350m for uterine fibroid treatment firm Gynesonics; the US FDA authorized a Novocure cancer treatment and a surgical robot from CMR Surgical; and the IMDRF announced 15 new members.

The Octane Medical Innovation Forum brought together industry experts, entrepreneurs and investors to discuss a range of topics. Medtech Insight was on the ground to bring some memorable perspectives from industry leaders.

This week, Establishment Labs Holdings announced the FDA gave it premarket approval for Motiva breast implant, Cologuard lands FDA approval for Cologuard Plus and GE HealthCare gets FDA nod for a new imaging agent. The FDA announces another expansion for TAP into ophthalmology and radiology. The AAMI and CTA will join forces to develop standards for AI and ML-enabled health care products.  

Tim Schmid, executive VP and worldwide chairman of J&J MedTech, expects Shockwave, acquired in April, and Abiomed, purchased in late 2022, to be “long-term gems” for the company. Cardiovascular is among higher-growth segments where J&J has concentrated investments in recent years, along with robotic surgical systems.

Medtronic chairman and CEO Geoff Martha addressed the promise of artificial intelligence in the company’s medical technologies, AI monetization opportunities, and risk of AI overregulation in a 4 September session at the Wells Fargo Healthcare Conference.

This week, a Delaware court awarded Auris Health shareholders $1bn in a lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson; Abbott recalled some FreeStyle Libre 3 sensors; and McKesson purchased a controlling interest in a Florida cancer care chain.

The US Food and Drug Administration released six warning letters and two close-outs last month, including four warnings to marketers of unauthorized continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) cleaners or sanitizers.

Announced in conjunction with a $97m Series D financing round, Neptune underscores its gastrointestinal focus and robotics aspirations by spinning out Jupiter Endovascular, which will leverage $21m of the funding to support ongoing development of its Endoportal Control technology.

Caresyntax said it will use the $180m it recently raised in a series C extension and debt financing round to build out its vendor-neutral surgery platform aimed to help surgeons with real-time and long-term decision support to improve patient outcomes and efficiencies.

J&J Medtech announced the FDA clearance of its dual-use robotics platform Velys Spine with plans to go to market in the first half of 2025.

This week, the US FDA sent a warning letter to maker of batteries for AEDs, AMCO; Virtual Incision successfully completed the first hysterectomy its miniaturized robotic-assisted surgery device MIRA; The DOJ finalized a rule that requires government-operated health care facilities to provide accessible equipment for people with disabilities; the FDA compiled its resources on reprocessed medical devices onto a new web page; and more.

CMR Surgical has launched a multicenter pediatric clinical trial for its Versius surgical robot system across three UK sites. The trial will enroll 150 children for urological procedures, with patient outcomes followed for up to a year post-surgery.

This week, Edwards announced that it has purchased JenaValve and Endotronix; a New Jersey lab has agreed to pay the government $5m for violating anti-kickback law; eCential Robotics’ spine platform made its debut for human use; and more.

This week, Nipro Medical Corp. announced it will invest $397.8m to build a US-based production plant, generating 232 new jobs; both Baxter and Hamilton announced ventilator recalls; Imperative Care wins FDA clearance for its stroke catheter; Intelligent Ultrasound Group plc entered into a conditional sale and purchase deal to sell its Clinical AI business to GE HealthCare for £40.5m; RMI distributed 350m rapid test kits in the fight against HIV/AIDS; Jiangsu Shenli Medical Production Co., Ltd received a second FDA warning letter about quality and safety of plastic syringes.