BRAVO: Gujarat Doctor Performs World's 1st Robotic Angioplasty 30 km away from patient

Written by Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Kohli Published On 2018-12-05T20:35:12+05:30 | Updated On 5 Dec 2018 8:35 PM IST

An amazing feat by another Indian doctor - This time a Gujarat based Doctor Performs World's 1st Robotic Angioplasty 30 km Away from the patient. Cardiac surgeon Dr. Tejas Patel conducted the world’s first telerobotic surgery on a patient in Ahmedabad with help of computer technology and advanced robotics.

This is the world’s First Percutaneous Coronary Intervention (PCI) conducted from a remote location outside of the catheterization lab.

Teleoperated medical robotic systems allow procedures such as surgeries, treatments, and diagnoses to be conducted across short or long distances while utilizing wired and/or wireless communication networks. It is performed at a distance from the patient from a remote location using robotically controlled instruments.

Attached to Apex Heart Institute Ahmedabad, Padma Shree awardee, Dr. Patel, is an interventional cardiologist.H e guided the robot to perform the surgery on the patient from the Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar, around 32 kilometers away on a middle-aged woman with a blocked artery.

The surgery was performed using JIO band on 100 MBPS speed. The procedure barely took 15 minutes. A team of cardiologists was placed on standby with the patient to take over the surgery manually, should something go wrong technically or in the event of internet failure.

The achievement has opened doors to dramatically improve the access of doctors to patients with heart and stroke ailments, especially in rural and under-served areas.

This procedure could have been done with a 20mbps connectivity speed as well. I believe this will not just transform coronary (heart-related) intervention, but the entire vascular space. It has the capability of changing the lives of millions of people living in rural areas," the doctor said.

For the robotic surgery, Dr. Patel used the Corpath technology of US-based Corindus Vascular Robotics and Mark Toland, the chief executive officer of Corindus could not have been prouder. “It was a matter of pride for the company to be associated with a procedure that could be used to provide quality healthcare on a larger scale,” Toland said.

Dr. Patel chose the Swaminarayan Akshardham temple as a remote location for performing surgery because it represents a combination of spirituality and technology. "I took care of the heart of Pramukh Swamy Maharaj and that has made me a better person," Dr. Patel stated.

Telerobotic coronary interventional platform has the potential to dramatically improve patient access for both elective and emergent percutaneous coronary interventions and stroke in rural and underserved populations. It will reduce time to treatment for emergent procedures such as STEMI and stroke and will also reduce variability in operator skills and thus, improve clinical outcomes.

The rapid evolution of robot-assisted surgery into telerobotic surgery provides technologic solutions to many of the inherent limitations of robotic surgery and hopefully will provide a long-term solution for imparting quality healthcare in rural and remote areas.

doctorDr Tejas PatelFrom patientGujaratJIOpadma shreePadma Shree awardeePCIRoboticRobotic AngioplastySTEMIstrokesurgeryteleroboticTolandWorld's 1st

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Dr. Kamal Kant Kohli Kohli