Will Experience Triumph Over New Robotics Innovation?

Competition is certainly heating up in the field of robotic-assisted surgery, but if the CEO of the reigning market leader is sweating over the newcomers, he's not letting it show. Given the recent FDA clearance of TransEnterix's Senhance Surgical Robotic System, plus whispers of new flexible robotic technologies in the works from other competitors, analysts have been on the lookout for potential chinks in the armor at Intuitive Surgical. But CEO Gary Guthart emphasized the company's deep experience in the space and said during the call that he worries a lot less about what others are doing and a lot more about what Intuitive is doing to satisfy customer needs. "With regard to other systems that are coming or have come out, our experience goes back pretty far," Guthart said during the call, according to a Seeking Alpha transcript. In terms of various approaches that have been explored in surgical robotics over the past 20 years, it's safe to say Intuitive has 'been there, done that' and that experience is what the company is banking on now as new entrants join the market. In fact, Guthart even shared some words of wisdom for these newcomers last year in a contributed article for MD+DI. Instead of focusing on what the competition is up to, Intuitive has let its customers guide the company's R&D pipeline. "It's our customers who have really taken us to the position we are in with integrated systems, things that work very well together," Guthart said. For example, if a su...
Source: MDDI - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Medical Device Business Source Type: news