Medtronic plc, a healthcare technology company, and OLV Hospital Aalst in Belgium have announced the performance of the first clinical procedure with the surgical robot Hugo in Europe.
The bot’s full name is the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system, or Hugo RAS system.
The procedure was a prostatectomy, and was completed by Professor Alexandre Mottrie, M.D., head of urology at the hospital and chief executive officer and founder of the Belgium-based ORSI Academy.
The ORSI describes itself as a multidisciplinary centre for training, research and development and data analysis, with the ambition of improving minimally invasive surgical practices.
“Performing Europe’s very first procedure with the Hugo RAS system is a career highlight for me,” said Dr. Mottrie.
“With more than two decades and 4,000 robotic-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am intimately aware of the barriers that have kept the benefits of surgical robotics from physicians, hospitals, and patients.
“Now, I believe we are entering a new era filled with greater access and flexibility.”
According to Hugo’s developers, robot-assisted surgeries can have fewer complications, shorter hospital stays, faster recovery times and reduced scarring than open surgery.
The Hugo RAS system was designed to help cover the cost and utilisation barriers which have prevented previous adoption of clinical robots.
The company developed Hugo as a modular, multi-quadrant platform, equipped for a range of soft-tissue procedures.
To successfully perform surgeries, the bot combines wristed instruments, 3D visualisation and Touch Surgery Enterprise, a cloud-based surgical video capture and management solutions with support teams that reportedly specialise in robotics program optimisation, service and training.
In 2021, the tech firm announced the first urological and gynaecological procedures using the Hugo system in Latin America and Asia-Pacific.
“We’re incredibly proud to have left our stamp on medical history as the very first centre in the region to embrace surgical robotics in 1999,” said Peter Verhulst, chief executive officer, OLV Hospital Aalst.
“Decades later, we are delighted to be recognised as a robotic surgery centre of excellence, leaving another indelible mark as the first hospital in all of Europe to offer the Hugo RAS system and the first in the world to have Medtronic’s two RAS platforms — the Hugo system for soft tissue and the Mazor system for spinal surgery.”
Currently, the Hugo RAS system is commercially available in some countries, but regulatory requirements of individual nations and regions will determine approval for market availability.
In the EU, the Hugo RAS system is CE marked, in Canada, it has a medical device licence, it has approval in Australia and is classed as an investigational device not for sale in the US.
