Minneapolis-based Medtronic, the world's largest standalone medical device manufacturer, is developing a new robotic surgical system expected to be released by 2019.
Robotically assisted surgery involves a surgeon guiding the robot's mechanical arms from a console to perform the surgery. The approach allows for smaller incisions than traditional surgery and is often used for prostate removals and hysterectomies.
Once launched, Medtronic's robot will compete against Intuitive Surgical System's da Vinci system, which is currently the only robot used for abdominal surgery on the market. The robotic system is also expected to compete with Verb Surgical, a startup backed by Johnson & Johnson, and Google's startup Alphabet that also has a robot in development.
Medtronic hopes to lower the costs associated with robotic surgery through the new robotic system, which will launch in India.
The company expects the robot to make a meaningful contribution to its revenue in the 2019 fiscal year.
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