How 6 People Changed the Face of Robotic Surgery: A Michigan Ross School of Business Study Paved the Way For Indian Multispecialty Robotic Surgery

“Robotic surgery was a technology that was going nowhere in India.  I hoped to change that,” recalls Professor Mahendra Bhandari, a renowned Urologist and kidney transplant surgeon.  Dr. Bhandari was a student at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business.  For his ExecMap Project in 2009, he proposed to create a business model for making expensive robotic surgery more affordable for Indian patients.  He needed classmate-volunteers to join his team for his plan to succeed.  The ambitious project recruited six members, led by Professor Andy Lawlor, who visited India and analyzed the data firsthand. 

From left to right: Rob Barrow, Hannah Hensel, Lynn Bishop, Mahendra Bhandari, Matt Campbell, Skip Kiil

The Ross India trip was a real “eye-opening experience,” according to team member Robert Barrow.  Barrow, now vice president at Wright & Filippis, a large Michigan-based healthcare and prosthetics firm, remembers, “To look at India, with maybe one or two robots that were really not being used, and to develop a true market penetration strategy…  If you look at where we started in 2009, to where you are today, the progress is unbelievable.”

Today in India, there are 28 robotic programs and 3,000 multispecialty procedures done per year.  “In just five years, thanks in part to the plan established by the ExecMap Project, not only has robotic surgery gained a rightful place in Indian hospitals, it has proven that India has the expertise to lead the world in developing new uses for this minimally invasive tool,” says Dr. Bhandari.  Medanta Vattikuti Institute of Robotic Surgery is the pioneer in establishing robotic renal transplants with hypothermia in collaboration with Dr. Mani Menon and the Vattikuti Urology Institute in Detroit.  India is the only country in the world that has multispecialty robotic surgery programs and helps to make this form of surgery cost effective.  Today, the Vattikuti Foundation continues to support robotic surgery efforts in India, Europe, and in the United States.  

WATCH NOW: Rob Barrow's comments:

Read more here: http://vfrsi.vattikutifoundation.com/a-michigan-ross-school-of-business-study-paved-the-way-for-indian-multispecialty-robotic-surgery

Vattikuti Global Robotics Survey

Attention VGR faculty, participants, and attendees:

We would love to have your feedback. Let us know your thoughts about VGR using this short form here:

If you are having trouble viewing the form, click here.


Thank you!

Vattikuti Urology Institute in the news!

Check out the article here!

Doctor Performs First U.S. Robotic Kidney Transplants Using a Revolutionary Cooling Technique

Vattikuti Global Robotics 2015: Save the Date!

Pictures from the 2014 Robotic Surgeons Council on our Facebook Page!

Post by Vattikuti Foundation.

Announcement!

We are pleased to announce that:

The next Robotic Surgeons Council will be held on February 8-9, 2014

Check back on our site for details soon!

A New Cooling Technique for Kidney Stone Removal by the Vattikuti Urology Institute!

Urologists at the Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI) at Henry Ford devised an unconventional technique to remove a staghorn calculi, or a large kidney stone with sharp, craggy branches, which can lead to disease or death if left untreated. The technique is called Robotic Anatrophic Nephrolithotomy or RANL, for short and is combined with a cooling procedure, referred to as ICE.

While using this procedure to remove staghorn kidney stones is a first, doctors from Henry Ford and the Muljibhai Patel Urological Hospital (MPUH) in Gujarat, India have used RANL on 3 patients without any complications. Researchers at the VUI and MPUH explain that the new procedure is “a safe, minimally invasive option that may be considered in patients with staghorn stones.”

Read more on our site!

Robotic Surgeons Council - A HUGE SUCCESS!

Robotic surgeons of various specialities and hospitals at RSC 2013

The Vattikuti Foundation sponsored a meeting of the Robotic Surgeons Council at the Hotel ITC Maurya.  Over 60 top Indian robotic surgeons participated in a packed, daylong symposium.  Nearly 20 hospitals were represented, and each provided an update on the progress being made in growing the use of the da Vinci surgical system.  Ideas on data sharing, proctoring, training and collaboration were discussed.

Vattikuti Foundation CEO, Dr. Mahendra Bhandari, told the elite gathering that the “Vattikuti Foundation’s intention is to provide a commonplace forum for multi-specialties, multi-institutional activities, and this is purely academic…”

Raj Vattikuti, Foundation president and founder, addressed the group by video, stating that “Our main focus is the quality," and he spoke of how the Foundation’s leadership in Urology has expanded into other disciplines.  He continued to share ideas on how to achieve higher quality and his hopes for the Robotic Surgeons Council:  “We have a great opportunity for India in terms of building this program… Most [importantly], this is not from the Foundation; it is a group you can really help to mold this program in India, and can be the best in the world.”

Stay tuned for more information and video footage!

News: A Robotic Phlebotomist in Action!

The Veebot system claims to be as accurate as a human phlebotomist when it comes to drawing blood! Check out this video to see how it works:

Visit our news section to learn more about Veebot and other advancements in robotics and healthcare!

Upcoming Vattikuti Foundation Event!

The Vattikuti Foundation is proud to host their 2nd Robotic Surgeons Council in New Delhi, India on August 18, 2013.



Please stay tuned for footage and news regarding the event!

Vattikuti Invitational 2013

June 17, 2013 was the 12th year of the Vattikuti Invitational, a premier charity event that benefits the cancer programs at Henry Ford Health System and Beaumont Health System. The event celebrates and builds upon the extraordinary generosity of Raj and Padma Vattikuti, whose exceptional gifts to each institution are funding cancer education, treatment and research programs at Beaumont's Vattikuti Digital Breast Diagnostic Center and Henry Ford's Vattikuti Urology Institute. Over the past eleven years, the Invitational has netted over $4.2 million for cancer care.

The 2013 Vattikuti Invitational featured a round of golf at the world-class championship course of Oakland Hills Country Club, site of the 2004 Ryder Cup Matches, 2008 PGA Championship and the 2016 US Amateur. The day's activities also included a tee-off breakfast, lunch, cocktails, strolling dinner and entertainment.

------

Practical Robotics Series: The Importance of a Robotic Team

Here is the FINAL video from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

The Importance of a Robotic Team video includes footage from several presenters.  They share some of their strongest reasons for supporting the need for a dedicated Robotic Operating Room Team.

***

We hope you enjoyed our compilation of the VGR 2012 conference. To view all of the videos from the series, be sure to check out our Practical Robotics Playlist on YouTube. For more videos regarding robotic surgery, check out the video repository on the VFRSI website!

Practical Robotics Series: Making Choices - Ideas from the Experts

Here is the next video from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

Robotic surgeons face choices about the number of robotic arms to use for some procedures. Sometimes, it can also be a difficult decision whether to open up a patient when complications occur. In Making Choices: Ideas from the Experts, we take different opinions from some of the top surgeons in the world to help you understand what the choices are.

Check back for the FINAL video in this series!

VFRSI: Who We Are

The VFRSI portal is dedicated to bringing together the institutions, professionals and patients with the objective of educating and mentoring the community in the field of minimally invasive surgery. The members of this network consisting of Institutions and Doctors contribute frequently to the portal making it a unique place for receiving and sharing a wealth of knowledge in the area of robotic surgery. The VFRSI portal gives doctors opportunity to view, participate and also contribute.


The mission of the Vattikuti Foundation is to develop worldwide centers of excellence dedicated to the practice of state-of-the-art robotic surgery and to innovate through collaboration with its global network of multispecialty institutes. These institutes will leverage their collective wisdom to provide a positive surgical experience that is affordable to patients from all of society.

Practical Robotics Series: Tips for Training

Here is another video from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

Dr. Mani Menon, Dr. Ronney Abaza, Dr. Jack Elder, Dr. James Peabody, Dr. Savitha Desai and more  share their thoughts on making the most for robotic surgery training in Tips for Training. The video contains great advice for surgeons and assistants interested in robotic surgery!

Keep checking the blog for more VGR footage!

Like, Follow, Subscribe and Share!

Vattikuti Foundation is present on a number of social media outlets. We would love to interact with you on the following sites:

Like us on Facebook: 

Follow and Tweet us @VattikutiRobotx on Twitter:
Follow @VattikutiRobotx

Subscribe to our YouTube channel:


Share our pages with your friends and fellow coworkers!

Practical Robotics Series: The Vattikuti Foundation's Focus on India

Here is continued footage from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

VGR 2012 opened with speakers outlining what some of the goals are for bringing robotic surgery to India. Shri Montek Singh Ahluwalia, the Deputy Minister of the Planning Commission of India, several leaders in the field of medicine and Raj Vattikuti shared their thoughts in the following video.

We still have many more videos to share! Keep checking back!

Practical Robotics Series: The Benefits of Robotic Surgery

Here is the next installment from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

The Benefits of Robotic Surgery is for surgeons who are considering robotic surgery. We hear from over a dozen men and women who rely on the da Vinci surgical robot regularly to perform procedures. In addition, the coverage includes remarks by some surgeons who once were opposed to using surgical robotics. 

We have more VGR footage to come!

Robotic Surgery News: Intuitive Surgical Beats Claims of Negligent Training Practices

Intuitive Surgical has won the first legal battle regarding the training of surgeons who use it's da Vinci surgical robot to perform minimally invasive surgery.  A jury in the state of Washington ruled that Intuitive was not negligent in the case of Fred Taylor, who was 67 when he underwent a radical prostatectomy, and died four years after. His estate was seeking $8.5 million dollars.  Scott Bildsten, the surgeon, was performing his first unassisted case robotically and decided that he had to convert to open due to complications.  Taylor's estate claimed that the surgeon had not been trained properly by Intuitive, and the results of the converted procedure caused severe blood loss, kidney failure, incontinence and impaired brain function.  The company pointed out that it warns surgeons not to operate on patients who are obese like Taylor, and that they are not responsible for the actions of surgeons who use their products.  The company is pleased with the trial results.  The surgeon, according to reports, has settled with the family confidentially.  There are 25 other cases pending across the United States.  At least one firm is actively trying to recruit new clients claiming the results from this case will have little effect on other lawsuits.

For more information about robotic surgery training and safety, please refer the Knowledge Repository Videos section and see all that the Vattikuti Foundation Robotic Surgery Institute has to offer.  We have dozens of robotic surgery videos from the pioneers and best in the world, all free to use.

Reports from Robotic Trends, QMed, Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this story.  




Published by: RoboticTrends

Practical Robotics Series: Advice for Surgeons & Team Members

Here is the next video from the Vattikuti Foundation's new series: Practical Robotics. The series includes video coverage from the The Vattikuti Global Robotics 2012 Multispecialty Global Robotics Conference in New Delhi. 

Advice for Surgeons & Team Members is one of the first videos in the series.  It features comments and ideas from the presenters and participants. Included are: reasons for choosing the robot, safety and checklist ideas, anesthesia, communication, ideas for when complications occur and several other topics are addressed.

Keep checking the blog for more from this series!