 |
|
INTOUCH HEALTH AND INTUITIVE SURGICAL FORM PARTNERSHIP TO DEVELOP A NEW TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM FOR SURGICAL PROCTORING, TRAINING AND COLLABORATION
Santa Barbara, CA, November 5, 2007 – InTouch Health®, the world leader in Remote Presence health care solutions, announced today a Development and Licensing agreement with Intuitive Surgical, Inc. (Nasdaq:ISRG), the global technology leader in robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgery.
Under the agreement, InTouch Health will integrate its remote presence technology with Intuitive’s da Vinci surgical system to enable surgeons located in different geographies to perform remote surgical proctoring, training and collaboration. The incorporation of the two systems should allow for more efficient means of training surgeons.
The da VinciHealth® Surgical System is a surgical robot that seamlessly translates the surgeon's natural hand movements on instrument controls outside the patient's body into corresponding micro-movements of the instrument tips positioned inside the patient through small puncture incisions.
The Remote Presence System, produced by InTouch Health in Santa Barbara, California, enables a remotely based surgeon to project his presence into an operating room where a surgeon is performing a da Vinci surgical procedure. The connection is made over a high-speed Internet connection, and the system provides high quality, real-time audio and video allowing the remote surgeon to effectively view the surgery from multiple cameras while interacting with the surgeon and staff operating via da Vinci.
“We believe InTouch® has created a platform that can integrate seamlessly with our da Vinci system, enabling hospitals easier access to surgical proctors and benefiting patients, surgeons and hospitals alike,” says Intuitive Surgical’s President Gary Guthart.
“Training physicians on new surgical procedures is a process that often requires the guidance of a more experienced surgeon over a number of procedures,” commented Dr. Yulun Wang, Chairman and CEO of InTouch Health. “Coupling the Remote Presence system with the da Vinci surgical robot will greatly improve the availability and access of more experienced surgeons, which may enable more rapid adoption of new procedures. We’re very excited about this partnership as it truly leverages the expertise of each organization.”
About InTouch Technologies
InTouch Technologies, Inc. (d.b.a. InTouch Health®) is a privately held company based in Santa Barbara, California. The company has pioneered Remote Presence technology for hospital providers. Through its RP-7™ Remote Presence Robotic System, a proprietary mobile robotic and communications platform, doctors are able to consult with hospital-based patients and staff more easily and frequently. The InTouch Health solution leverages the time and expertise of healthcare professionals across multiple care facilities, improving the efficiency and effectiveness of care delivery.
|
|
|
