On Wednesday in Gujrat, an important breakthrough in medical science was achieved when
cardiac surgeon Dr. Tejas Patel conducted the world's first telerobotic surgery on a patient in
Ahmedabad.
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,
guided the robot to perform the surgery on the patient from the Akshardham Temple in
Gandhinagar, around 32 kilometers away. The patient was a middle-aged woman with a blocked
artery.
The success of the project has the potential to dramatically improve the access of doctors to
patients with heart and stroke ailments, especially in rural and under-served areas. Chief
minister 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.
" 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," the doctor said.
For the robotic surgery, Dr. Patel used the Corpath technology of US-based Corindus Vascular
Robotics and Mark Toland, the chief executive officer of Corindus could not have been prouder.
"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," Toland said.
