Innovations & technologies

Expensive robots may not be making surgeons — or patients — much better

Sixteen years ago, U.S. regulators approved a robotic surgery system named after a Renaissance genius: da Vinci. Hospitals, in a technological arms race to offer the most cutting-edge medical care, began to buy up the da Vinci Surgical System — and to advertise it on websites and billboards. Today, machines made by Intuitive Surgical, which still offers the only robotic-assisted surgical system in the United States, can cost up to $2 million. The vast majority of prostate cancer surgeries in the United States are done with its robotic assistance. The system magnifies the surgical site on a large screen and allows surgeons to control robotic arms from a console, with hand grips and foot pedals.