Dive Brief:

• Intuitive has unveiled more than 100 updates and user experience improvements planned for its da Vinci 5 surgical robot.
• The company will implement the changes, which it disclosed Thursday, in “measured launches” in the U.S. starting in June before expanding the rollout to overseas markets. 
• Updates include improvements to a tool that allows physicians to observe procedures remotely and the option for surgeons to log in to the robot using their phones.

Dive Insight:

Intuitive began selling da Vinci 5 in 2024. The robot has 10,000 times the computing power of the company’s older Xi system, Iman Jeddi, general manager of da Vinci platforms and product operations at Intuitive, said in a statement. The additional computing power allowed Intuitive to commit to the ongoing integration of new functions, capabilities, indications and instrumentation, Jeddi said.

The company is following through on that commitment with features intended to boost collaboration, connectivity and outcomes. Intuitive is adding a camera that allows remote physicians to see the full operating room. With Intuitive implementing a live cursor and enhancing audio, the company aims to improve communication between remote and on-site surgeons to expand education opportunities.

A mobile phone login feature is intended to simplify access while enhancing security through multifactor authentication. Intuitive’s other near-term updates include six new exercises in its simulation platform.

Other changes are subject to regulatory clearance and scheduled to launch later this year in the U.S. The company wants to add a digital ruler for on-screen intraoperative measurements, implement a feature that allows surgeons to eject tools directly from the console and enable targeting with any number of arms docked. The multi-arm targeting feature is intended to simplify and reduce time for case setup.

Intuitive is continuing to increase the number of uses of its instruments. The company increased the number of uses of five of its force-feedback instruments from six to 15. Intuitive expects to increase the number of uses on some core instruments next year, reducing per-procedure costs.

The updates come as Intuitive faces increasing competition on multiple fronts. Medtronic received Food and Drug Administration clearance for its Hugo robot in December, and Johnson & Johnson filed for de novo authorization of its Ottava robot in January. Meanwhile, CMR Surgical formally introduced its Versius robot in March, and Distalmotion is working to increase ambulatory surgery centers’ use of surgical robots.

Intuitive has continued to grow despite the pressure, installing more than 1,400 da Vinci 5 systems as of the first quarter. More than 12,800 surgeons in 10 countries have used the robots to perform more than 380,000 procedures.