A cardiologist in India has performed the first remote robot-assisted percutaneous coronary intervention procedures (R-PCIs), according to a new study published this week.
The cardiologist used Corindus Vascular Robotics‘ CorPathGRX system and performed the five successful procedures from 20 miles away, according to an article on the study published in The Lancet’s EClinicalMedicine.
The primary endpoint was procedural success with no major adverse cardiac events before discharge. Procedural success was defined as achieving <10% diametric stenosis of the occluded target vessel utilizing tele-R-PCI balloon angioplasty and stent deployment without shifting to manual PCI by an on-site standby team.
The CorPath GRX robotic platform (and its predecessor, the CorPath 200) is the only endovascular robotic device with FDA and CE Mark approval for PCI. An interventional cardiologist usually performs the procedure from a lead-shielded robotic workstation placed several feet from the patient in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. The workstation is connected via cables to the robotic arm and cassette deck located at the patient’s bedside.
Using the CorPath system reduces radiation exposure to the cardiologist and eliminates the need to wear heavy, lead-lined protective garments, according to the article. The study’s success points to the possibility that patients who need PCI but cannot get to a cath lab may be treated remotely, according to the study’s authors.
The news was latest splash this year for Waltham, Mass.-based Corindus, which announced the first Japanese procedures using CorPath GRX in April. Last month, Siemens Healthineers announced it will acquire Corindus for $1.1 billion.
Robot-assisted PCI has been successfully used in the U.S. since 2011.
