SS Innovations, an India-based developer of surgical robotic technologies, has recently obtained the regulatory approval of the Indonesian Ministry of Health for its flagship robot-assisted surgery system.

It also announced that the SSi Mantra was recently installed at the private Baidya and Banskota Hospital in Nepal, possibly marking the country's first installation of a surgical robotic system.

Developed to be an affordable solution, SSi Mantra features a modular robotic arm, a vision cart offering 3D 4K vision, and a command centre with an open-face console design. With applications in various specialties, such as general surgery, cardiothoracic surgery, and urological surgery, this RAS system has been clinically validated in over 70 types of surgical procedures. 

THE LARGER TREND

As SS Innovations awaits regulatory clearances for its RAS system in the United States and Europe next year, it is actively pursuing expansion across Asia. Demand for robotic surgeries is reportedly picking up in the region as alternatives to costly market-leading solutions finally emerge in the market. In India, for example, robotic surgery is becoming an option in public hospitals. Hospitals outside major cities are also looking to offer robotic surgeries.

Some health institutions have started testing the viability of robotic telesurgery, a procedure that combines telemedicine and RAS. The National University Hospital in Singapore and Fujita Health University in Japan collaborated to perform a remote gastrectomy on a simulated stomach from over a distance of 5,000 kilometres in October last year. 

Over in Indonesia, the local government partnered with Iran to pilot the Robotic Telesurgery Center project in Bandung and Yogyakarta in May last year. After a successful run, they expanded their coverage to the western and eastern islands of the country early this year.

"With the entry of the SSi Mantra to the Indonesian market, we believe that we can be instrumental in increasing access to and decreasing costs of robotic surgery options," Dr Sudhir Srivastava, SS Innovation’s Chairman and CEO, said about their entry in the Indonesian market.

According to ResearchAndMarkets, the global surgical robotics market, which was worth $79 billion in 2022, is projected to grow to nearly $190 billion by 2032, growing at a 9.1% CAGR.

In other news, SS Innovations recently unveiled the latest version of the SSi Mantra. The SSi Mantra 3 now comes with five slimmer robotic arms and a 3D HD headset. This launch was made alongside its announcement of the first human telesurgery trial using the SSi Mantra. A cholecystectomy was done in Gurugram between the World Laparoscopy Hospital and SS Innovations' Headquarters over a 5-km distance, powered by Airtel's fibre optic network.