Robot-Assisted Surgery Performed on Heart Patients

PORTO ALEGRE, Brazil, Jan. 8 -- Computer Motion Inc., developer of medical robotic systems, said surgeons from The Institute of Cardiology in Rio Grande Do Sul have performed a series of robotically assisted procedures to treat congestive heart failure.

Robert W. Duggan, chairman and CEO of Computer Motion, said, "This is a milestone for the company, as it represents an important first use of our products in the field of cardiology. We believe that robotically assisted procedures will continue to gain market share in the treatment of heart disease, and that this is an important step in opening a new and important market for our products."

Joao Ricardo M. Sant'Anna, MD, performed the operations using a computer-motion AESOP robotic endoscope positioner through ports in a patient's chest as part of a minimally invasive procedure to insert a biventricular pacemaker electrode into the heart. Sant'Anna performed the procedure on a 27-year-old male, a 35-year-old male and a 71-year-old female. The procedures were each performed in approximately 20 minutes without complications, he said. The normal technique of "biventricular pacing" requires a thoracotomy and takes about two hours longer.