Sovato Touts Successful Remote RAS Procedures Over 500 Mile Distance

Santa Barbara-based Sovato today announced the successful completion of a series of remote robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) procedures in a preclinical technology demonstration using its Sovato Platform. Performed on porcine models between Lincoln, NE, and Chicago, IL, seven surgeons across four specialties completed nephrectomy, hysterectomy, colectomy, and cholecystectomy procedures.

Sovato touts the platform as a “comprehensive solution for enabling and orchestrating remote robotic-assisted surgeries and procedures.” Using a remote surgery ecosystem, which includes the healthcare providers and any RAS system, it delivers a curated fiberoptic network, clinical workflows, data, and supporting infrastructure to support safe, scalable, and profitable remote surgery and procedure programs.

In the preclinical tests, the Sovato Platform was paired with a modified version of Virtual Incision’s MIRA Surgical System so that surgeons from multiple specialties could perform the procedures across a 500-mile radius. This enabled “low latency, curated, fiberoptic connectivity from the surgeons console to control MIRA’s arms and integrated an articulating camera at the remote location for full situational awareness,” according to the company press release.

The platform also maintained verbal and visual communication with the remote care team.

After the tests, the surgeons completed a user experience assessment based on the NASA Task Load Index which revealed a high degree of surgeon confidence with performing the remote procedures. Additionally, they reported that they could effectively communicate with the remote care team while also having comparable situational awareness of the remote operating room when compared to in-person surgery.

"I could not tell the difference between doing surgery in my operating room or in an operating room that was 500 miles away," said Francesco Bianco, MD, associate professor of surgery, division of general, minimally invasive & robotic surgery department of surgery, at the University of Illinois, Chicago, in the release. "The experience was seamless. There was no detectable delay. There was absolute comfort in communicating with the team on the remote side. Everything looked like a normal day in my operating room."