For the first time in the history of medical science, a cardiac surgeon Dr Tejas Patel conducted the world’s first telerobotic surgery on a patient in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
Tele-robotic surgery is performed at a distance from the patient from a remote location using robotically controlled instruments. It is enabled by computer technology and advanced robotics.
Dr Patel, who is the chief interventional cardiologist at Ahmedabad-based Apex Heart Institute, was at the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar, around 32 kilometres away. He guided the robot to perform the surgery on a middle-aged female patient with a blocked artery.
The success of the project is potent enough to dramatically improve the access of doctors to patients with heart and stroke ailments, especially in rural and under-served areas.
Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani said, “The government will explore the use of this technology to provide quality and specialised healthcare to rural areas.”
Dr Patel has been widely using robotics for Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) or heart surgery, but this is the first time in the world that the surgery was conducted from a remote location outside the operation theatre.
Dr Patel said, “This procedure could have been done with a 20mbps connectivity speed as well. I believe this will not just transform coronary (heart related) intervention, but the entire vascular space. It has the capability of changing the lives of millions of people living in rural areas.”
He claimed, “According to doctors around the world, robotic surgeries are considered more accurate than the manual ones because human hands have some limitations that robotic hands don’t. The human hand can work only with 10mm precision, while a robotic hand has 1mm precision, ensuring minimum damage to the organ itself.”
He used the Corpath technology of US-based Corindus Vascular Robotics for the surgery. Mark Toland, CEO of Corindus said, “It was a matter of pride for the company to be associated with a procedure that could be used to provide quality healthcare on a larger scale.”
Dr Patel said, “I took care of the heart of Pramukh Swamy Maharaj and that has made me a better person.”
He chose the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple for the remote location because it represents a wonderful blend of spirituality and technology.