When most people think about product liability lawsuits involving surgical robots, they imagine the scenario where a patient undergoes an unsuccessful operation and then sues the robot manufacturer for damages. But few...more
Today, major healthcare companies are investing heavily into various AI-powered devices. For example, Zimmer Biomet and the New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery recently inked a three-year deal to create the...more
With tech, you pretty much know that each new generation of smart phone or laptop is going to be better: faster processing, better screen resolution, more apps -- more of everything. Medical care doesn't work that way. ...more
AURIS HEALTH, INC., v. INTUITIVE SURGICAL OPERATIONS, INC., Before Dyk, Prost, and Reyna. Appeal from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB). Summary: Evidence of generic industry skepticism cannot, by itself, form...more
Until they become fully autonomous, surgical robots will only be as good as their human operators. Training for all surgeons, nurses, bedside assistants, and other surgical team members is critical to ensuring optimal patient...more
Last week, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety communication to remind patients and health care providers that the safety and effectiveness of robotically-assisted surgical (RAS) devices for use in...more
On August 23rd, the Federal Circuit upheld in part and reversed in part a decision from the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s (PTAB or Board) concerning Ethicon’s patent on a robotic surgical tool, holding that the Board’s...more
Hospitals finally are saying bull feathers to the leading maker of surgical robots that cost institutions millions of dollars annually to buy and maintain. New lawsuits against Intuitive Surgical dispute the company’s...more
...Robots are everywhere – but perhaps just not how everyone imagined them. For decades, the promise of robots brought to mind devices like R2D2 and C3PO, or perhaps Rosie the Robot from The Jetsons – autonomous, intelligent...more
It’s no secret that defending against product liability lawsuits can be costly. But surgical robot manufacturers sometimes ask me to give them hard numbers. To read the tea leaves and estimate how much they’ll have to spend...more
Death and taxes are unavoidable. And if you create a popular product, so too are product liability lawsuits. In my practice, companies sometimes ask, “How soon after our surgical robot hits the market will we get sued?”...more
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a safety warning regarding the use of robotically assisted surgical devices for mastectomies and other cancer surgeries, asserting that "the safety and effectiveness of...more
Last week, the FDA issued a warning against the use of robotic surgery for mastectomy and other cancer-related procedures. ...more
The federal Food and Drug Administration finally has pushed back at surgeons and hospitals for experimenting on patients, spending $3 billion a year for surgical robots. The devices should not be used for mastectomies and...more
As more and more surgical robots make their way into operating rooms, companies are learning valuable lessons about how their devices function in the real world. ...more
Over the last decade, robotics have revolutionized healthcare. Surgical robots are rapidly making their way into many of our nation’s operating rooms, and are being used in a wide variety of surgeries ranging from...more
Globus Medical announced early yesterday that the Excelsius GPSTM surgical platform has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), as reported by a press release dated August 17, 2017....more
The University of Twente in Enschede, Netherlands recently introduced “the world’s smallest and most accurate 3D-printed biopsy robot,” called the Stormram 4. The device is designed to carry out biopsies during breast cancer...more
Recently, my colleague Amy Foust made some really good points about a subject that is rarely discussed. Over the years, a number of patients have claimed that they were injured by surgical robots defective by design or...more
An international team of researchers has recently showcased a tiny origami robot that can be swallowed and controlled by external magnetic fields. According to Daniela Rus, an electrical engineering and computer science...more
Robotic technology has been used in medicine for over 30 years. In 1985, a robot called the Puma 560 (shown at right) was used to perform a needle biopsy of human brain tissue. By the turn of the last century, it was widely...more