The National Hospital in Iceland is exploring the possibility of investing in a robot, named after Leonardo da Vinci, to assist surgeons with performing operations.
According to Eiríkur Jónsson, a senior physician at the National Hospital, representatives of the hospital are currently exploring this possibility, as Morgunbladid reports.
“This is naturally extremely expensive, it costs close to 200 million [EUR 2.3 million, USD 2.9 million] to acquire such equipment and teach the staff how to use it, so we have to figure out how to fund it and what kind of operations we could use it for,” Jónsson said.
The robot has been used for operations overseas, such as cancer operations, heart surgery, operations in the abdominal cavity and could possibly be used for operating on children and gynecological operations.
“The equipment works best in a tight space. The human hand and mind controls the equipment. It works as an extension of the surgeon’s hands,” Jónsson said.
Jónsson said operations with the aid of the robot have many advantages, i.e. that patients recover more quickly and can leave the hospital after a shorter admission period than usual.
Jónsson said it is important to learn from the experience of other countries before investing in the robot. It has already been used with good results in Sweden and in other countries in Europe and America.
