Intuitive Surgical has awarded technology grants to five top U.S. medical centers to increase training opportunities in minimally invasive surgical techniques. Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Duke University, Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU), University of Texas Southwestern and Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis will each receive a da Vinci System console and Skills Simulator™ equipment for one year.
"Our goal is to see the skills surgeons develop during simulation practice transfer to actual surgery," said Myriam Curet, M.D., Senior Vice President, Chief Medical Officer at Intuitive Surgical. "Early research suggests that surgeons who spend time doing simulation improve their efficiency. Our hope is that future studies show that regular simulation practice also results in improved patient outcomes."
About 120 residents and researchers will be able to train on the simulation equipment. Medical centers were selected based on the scientific merits of their proposals, their specialty's relevance to robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery, bibliographies, proof of prior work and intent to publish their surgery simulation results. The technology grant recipients were selected from the dozens of applications received.
"Simulation has become a critical component of surgical training," said Mary Anna Denman, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Oregon Health & Science University School of Medicine. "This grant allows us to introduce training in the newest minimally invasive surgical technology broadly across all of our surgical residency and fellowship programs. It will be part of the foundation of VirtuOHSU Simulation and Surgical Training Center, our new, state-of-the-art simulation program – one of a range of OHSU initiatives designed to help our surgeons provide excellent patient outcomes."
Intuitive Surgical received a strong response from medical centers seeking grant applications. "There is an interest and desire for robotic surgery simulation," said Peter Dominick, Senior Technical Product Manager for Simulation at Intuitive Surgical. "We look forward to seeing the outcomes published by these first five medical centers to receive the da Vinci Skills Simulator grants."
Source: http://www.intuitivesurgical.com/