Meander Medical Centre in Amersfoort is the first hospital in the Netherlands to have da Vinci 5 operating robots from the company Intuitive. Meander is also the first top clinical hospital to deploy the operating robot for gastrointestinal surgery, gynaecology and urology.
Meander Medical Centre has been working with da Vinci surgical robots since 2011. The previous generation had been in use since 2019. Now two da Vinci 5 robots have been purchased, doubling Meander Medical Centre's robotic surgery capacity.
'New era'
Surgeon Prof Dr Ivo Broeders, one of the two professors of robotic surgery at Meander Medical Centre, says: "With this latest generation of surgical robots, we are taking a pioneering step especially in the application of artificial intelligence (AI) within robotic surgery. With the arrival of this surgical robot, we are entering a new era when it comes to surgery in the Netherlands."
"With the move to the new da Vinci 5, we are taking healthcare in Amersfoort to the absolute world top. Robotic surgery is thus evolving from a technical tool to a full-fledged knowledge partner at the operating table. We cannot wait to train new surgeons as soon as possible to learn to work with the new technology," says Prof Esther Consten, surgeon at Meander Medical Centre and first female professor of robotic surgery in the Netherlands.
'Smart partner in the operating room'
Surgeon and professor of robotic surgery Prof Ivo Broeders introduced robotic surgery in the Netherlands in 2000. Broeders: "With the da Vinci 5, you literally get a smart partner in the operating theatre - a system that not only excels technically, but also actively thinks along thanks to AI."
The da Vinci 5 is significantly more powerful than its predecessor, boasting 10,000 times more computing power.
Learning from previous operations
The robot can learn from the experiences of other robots; the robots share data via the internet worldwide about operations they perform. Interestingly, more than 60,000 surgeons worldwide have now been trained to use da Vinci surgical robots. Data sharing improves the quality, speed and safety of an operation.
This data can be accessed by surgeons. This allows them to compare an operation with previously performed similar operations. Among other things, surgeons can see what went well and what could be improved. With this information, surgeons can then adjust and improve future operations.
Technology improved
The technology of the da Vinci operating robot has also been improved. For example, the robot measures resistance during surgery, allowing the surgeon to know whether more or less force is needed for the procedure. Fine-tuning this prevents unnecessary damage to the patient's tissue.
In the coming months, the surgical robots will be tested and set up for use by Meander Medical Centre. The robots are to be used for operations in cases of colon cancer and diaphragm ruptures and operations within the field of gynaecology in pelvic floor surgery and prostate operations within urology, among others.
