Engineering and medicine must collaborate for robotics-based surgery: IISc director

Robotics-based surgery set to become game changer in health care

Bengaluru, April 24: “We want engineering and medicine to come together. I feel that institutions like IISc should collaborate with NU hospitals. I know that your hospital is successful in using cutting edge technology, said The Indian Institute of Science (IISc) Director Prof Govindan Rangarajan.

Inaugurating the ultra-modern “Versius Robotic Surgical System” at NU Hospital on Saturday he said, “I congratulate NU hospitals for launching the ultra-modern “Versius Robotic Surgical System”. The robotics-based surgery is set to become a game changer in health care. In fact, I want to say that this is the technology required for nephrology and urology.”

With this, NU Hospital became the first Nephro-Urology Super Specialty Hospital in the country to introduce the “Versius Robotic Surgical System, he added.

Manipal Global Education chairman TV Mohandas Pai said, “During Covid times, we have seen how the digital world has demonstrated that we can do several things if connected to a platform. However, there can be both good as well as bad effects. The biggest threat could be the consolidation of digital power while the biggest asset could be the connectivity of people.”

Robots won’t ask for a salary hike:

Concluding his speech said that one of the advantages of robots would be that they would not ask for a salary hike and instead work 24*7. “One day, we may have more robots working without asking for anything more. Well, technology can have both good and bad effects but we should ensure that good dominates the bad”, Mr Pai added. 

Robotic surgery would be a system where a surgeon sits at a console away from the patient on the operation table and when he moves the joystick the instruments in the body of the patient moves. This helps in precision for the surgery, said Dr Prasanna Venkatesh MK (Senior Consultant-Paediatric Urologist. Robotic and Renal Transplant Surgeon and Managing Director of NU Hospitals). “It is the future as robotics will be used for complex procedures. For patients, robotic surgery means lesser pain, no scars and early recovery. We are introducing robotic surgery so that we can do more complex surgeries in minimally invasive techniques.”

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