Telerobotic Coronary Surgery in Gujarat

• 06 Dec 2018

India became the first country to perform a telerobotic coronary surgery on human.

• The telerobotic coronary intervention was performed in Gujarat by Padma Shree and noted cardiologist Dr Tejas Patel on a middle-aged woman who had volunteered for the first experimental coronary stenting.
• Tele-robotic surgery is performed at a distance from the patient from a remote location using robotically controlled instruments. It is enabled by computer technology and advanced robotics.
• The coronary intervention operation is also popularly known as stent placing in the arteries.
• The robotic surgery is common in many countries but so far nowhere it had been performed through telerobots away from the operation theatre.

Significance

• This process will bring about revolution in the medical history as it will enable the cardiologists to perform surgery on the needy patients on emergency basis even from a distance.
• The success of the project has the potential to dramatically improve the access of doctors to patients with heart and stroke ailments, especially in rural and under-served areas.
• In case of any exigency or failure of the internet connections, the surgeons present at the spot could take over manually within 30 seconds.

TeleMedicine

• Telemedicine is an upcoming field in health science arising out of the effective fusion of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) with Medical Science.
• The main objective of telemedicine is to cross the geographical barriers and provide healthcare facilities to rural and remote areas (health for all) so it is beneficial for the population living in isolated communities.

Advantages of TeleMedicine

• Eliminate distance barriers and improve access to quality health services.
• In emergency and critical care situations where moving a patient may be undesirable and/or not feasible.
• Facilitate patients and rural practitioners’ access to specialist health services and support.
• Lessen the inconvenience and/or cost of patient transfers.
• Reduce isolation of rural practice by upgrading their knowledge through tele-education.