Japanese University and Surgical Association Perform Remote Robotic Operations

Tokyo (ANTARA) — Hirosaki University and the Japan Surgical Society said on Wednesday that they had performed operations on five patients with colorectal cancer using remotely controlled robots since August.

The operations were successfully carried out by doctors from Hirosaki University Hospital and Tsugaru General Hospital. Both are in Aomori Prefecture, north-eastern Japan.

The initiative aims to address a shortage of doctors and the uneven geographical distribution of medical personnel.

In each operation, a doctor operating a surgical robot called hinotori, developed by Japanese company Medicaroid Corp., was assisted by another doctor remotely controlling the same robot from a different location.

Hirosaki University and the Japan Surgical Society said the procedures were Japan’s first clinical application of robotic surgery involving doctors at separate locations.

They plan to conduct several more operations using the same method by March to establish its safety before seeking regulatory approval for the equipment required and coverage under the national health insurance programme.

Masaki Mori, a Tokai University professor and chair of the Japan Surgical Society’s committee promoting remote surgery, said at a press conference at Hirosaki University that the main goal was to eliminate regional disparities in access to surgical care.

He added that the society hoped remote robotic surgery could be introduced commercially in about two years.

The university and the society aim to expand access to remote surgery across Japan so patients do not have to pay additional costs or face difficult journeys to receive treatment.