The Rising Tide of Telesurgery

Originally Published MX March/April 2002

COVER STORY

The Rising Tide of Telesurgery

For Computer Motion chairman and CEO Robert W. Duggan, surgical robotics is the wave of the future whose time has come.

Interview by Steve Halasey

For more than a decade, Computer Motion Inc. (Goleta, CA) has pursued a single-minded vision: to apply computer-controlled robotics to the challenges of medical surgery. The company is devoted to the development, manufacture, and marketing of proprietary computer and robotic surgical systems that are designed to enhance surgeons' capabilities, improve patient outcomes, and reduce healthcare costs.

Computer Motion was founded in 1989 by Yulun Wang, PhD, an electrical engineering graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. But after serving as president of the company throughout its early years, in 1996 Wang stepped aside to take on new roles for the company as chief technical officer and executive vice president.

The company didn't have to look far to find a candidate to take on daily leadership responsibilities.