Spine robotics have been an important tool for surgeons, and evolutions with multi-arm systems could transform the operating room drastically.
Multi-arm surgical robots aren’t new in healthcare, but it’s something spine surgeons see potential in. In April the FDA cleared LEM Surgical’s Dynamis three-arm robot for spine surgery. The system is a first-of-its-kind robot for hard tissue surgery.
Michael Gallizzi, MD, a spine surgeon at Vail, Colo.-based Steadman Clinic, said multi-arm technologies can change the role of the robots.
“It’s essentially turning the robot into a navigated assistant,” he told Becker’s. “I see the multi-arm robotic platforms perhaps even taking the place of some of the help in the operating room because now you can use one arm to hold or retract while the other arm is doing some critical work. It’s really like, you know, someone with two hands versus someone with one.”
Dr. Gallizzi said the applications of these robots could be likened to the difference between uniportal and biportal endoscopic spine surgery.
“What you’re talking about when you’re using a scope for is the difference between a working channel scope or just a camera,” he said. “I think in the robotic space it’s going to be similar. Is it a usable working arm or is it just something that’s holding space? With multiarm technology, it’s going to be really dependent on how functional each of the arms are individually and how they apply.”
