The Sunnyvale, California–based surgical robotics leader also plans to boost the supporting ecosystem for the platform, including extended-use Force Feedback instruments and advancements to enhance product and instrument security and reliability.
Intuitive said its latest developments and initiatives fall within its “Quintuple Aim.”
“Intuitive is guided by a commitment to helping our customers achieve the Quintuple Aim: improving patient care and outcomes, optimizing surgeon and care team experience, and expanding access to minimally invasive care while lowering the total cost of care,” said Intuitive CEO Dave Rosa. “We recognize that product quality, safety and reliability are of the utmost importance to our customers, as they increasingly rely on our products to serve millions of patients globally. Together with hospitals and healthcare systems, we aim to expand access to minimally invasive care worldwide.”
Read more about Intuitive and the surgical robotics industry by downloading our free MassDevice Surgical Robotics Special Report.
More on the da Vinci 5 innovation
Intuitive plans to soon deliver more than 100 updates and user experience improvements to da Vinci 5 users. It hopes to strengthen collaboration, connectivity and outcomes across the surgical ecosystem.
The company’s enhancements include Intuitive Telepresence, a real-time capability that allows remote observation and guidance during procedures. It now includes a new camera that expands visibility to the full operating room (OR). The feature also includes a new live cursor and enhanced audio to boost communication.
A new surgeon console mobile login feature will enable surgeons to log into the da Vinci 5 console by tapping their phones. This simplifies case login and enhances security through multifactor authentication. Security has been a noteworthy industry issue of late, with Intuitive facing a cybersecurity breach shortly after a cyberattack on Stryker.
Other advances for da Vinci 5 include new simulation exercises to SimNow 2, the company’s practice simulation environment.
Intuitive plans to launch its new updates in the U.S. beginning in June, followed by eventual rollouts globally.
Other new features Intuitive plans to bring to surgeons
Intuitive also plans to launch, subject to U.S. regulatory clearance, a digital ruler to enable on-screen intraoperative measurement. This measurement would range between 3 cm and 15 cm to enhance sensing and precision without disruption workflow.
Surgeons could also utilize a future surgeon-initiated tool eject, removing instruments or endoscopes directly from the console. Multi-arm targeting would also enable targeting with any number of arms docked. This would simplify and reduce time for case setup and support more efficient multi-quadrant surgery intraoperatively.
“When we introduced da Vinci 5 with 10,000 times the computing power of Xi, we committed to enabling the ongoing integration of new functions, capabilities, indications and instrumentation on a regular cadence,” said Iman Jeddi, SVP and GM of da Vinci platforms and product operations at Intuitive. “It is exciting to see the pace of innovation we’re delivering to customers based on their feedback and needs. Da Vinci 5 is our most integrated and future-ready platform, designed to continue transforming surgery globally while expanding surgeon autonomy.”
Intuitive also advances instruments, security
According to Intuitive, it continues to advance innovation across its available instruments for the robotic platforms. That includes Force Feedback instruments, which have seen their number of uses increased from six to 15.
The company said these changes enable it to fully meet customer demand and invest in generating new evidence.
“Looking ahead, we expect that Force Feedback will play a central role in advancing augmented dexterity and automated instrument control,” Jeddi said.
In 2027, the company expects another increase in the. number of uses for core instruments, reducing per-procedure costs.
Intuitive also plans to implement new enhancements to increase product integrity, security and patient safety. Software and hardware updates, combined with predictive product performance monitoring and experienced service teams, allows the company to guarantee 98% uptime. It’s currently exceeding 99% actual uptime, according to a news release.
With recent scrutiny on security, the company plans to enhance instrument encryption technology to improve product security and monitoring, too.
