From the Editor - Medical Robotics: Report Reveals Clinician Expectations

Robocath, a company that designs, develops, and markets innovative robotic solutions to treat cardiovascular and neurovascular diseases, has published a new report exploring current and future expectations for the use of robotics in interventional medicine.

The report sets out the findings from an independent study conducted by Suazio Consulting. It involved 30 interventional cardiologists based in the United States, Europe, and Asia.

The study reveals growing support for the use of robotics within the interventional medicine community. According to the report, 87 percent of those surveyed now believe that robotics has the potential to improve the quality of treatment and/or achieve more consistent outcomes — up from just 61 percent in the previous survey, conducted in 2019.

The survey also shows that despite certain technical limitations, today there is real interest in the routine use of vascular robotic solutions, with 77 percent of respondents confirming that they have already considered the option. When asked about the wider potential clinical applications of this technology, i.e., to treat all kinds of coronary lesions, 90 percent of respondents said that they would consider introducing robotics into their daily practice. Moreover, when asked to describe their vision for the future of their activity, more than half of the interventional cardiologists questioned referred to vascular robotics.

Survey participants reference both the practical advantages of using robotics (precision and protection from radiation) and the training benefits that robotics could offer as part of the digitalization of the cathlab of the future (remote procedures and use of AI). Of those questioned, 67 percent believe that robotics will open up new treatment approaches for cardiovascular diseases. Among those who already use the technology, this figure rises to 100 percent.

The study provides an opportunity to assess current levels of concern around radiation exposure, 10 years after the SCAI survey on this topic. Despite the wide range of radioprotection equipment on the market and the advances in imaging systems, 67 percent still have serious concerns about daily exposure to radiation. Three out of 10 also report having musculoskeletal problems.

“The aim of this survey is to understand user needs and assess their levels of interest in robotic solutions based on their current knowledge and expectations for the future. All the results reaffirm our development ambitions, and we are excited to be sharing the data with the interventional medicine community at EuroPCR 2024,” says Lucien Goffart, CEO of Robocath.

Sherrie Trigg

Editor and Director of Medical Content

To access the full report, go here .