Intuitive's da Vinci S System approved in Japan
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved Intuitive Surgical's da Vinci S System, a robotic device for minimally-invasive surgery. The system allows surgeons to perform procedures remotely using robotic manipulators, and is used for various operations including prostatectomy, hysterectomy, and cardiac procedures such as mitral valve repair and atrial septal defect closure. Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive launched da Vinci S in the US in January 2006. The original da Vinci System received US FDA approval in 2000 for general laparoscopic surgery, while Intuitive introduced the latest version, the da Vinci Si Surgical System, in the US in April 2009.