Now more than ever, surgeons have the option to pick which robot they wish to use in surgery. Picking apart the reasons why reveals much similarity between the two surgical disciplines.

Newcomers to the market have increased the number of options available to both soft tissue and orthopedic surgeons when selecting a robot. Despite the two disciplines' differences, the factors considered by surgeons when picking a system are relatively similar.

This week, Illumina’s board added two independent members; the VA and the FDA agreed to collaborate on supply chain issues; and Think Surgical, Thermo Fisher Scientific and Blue Earth all landed FDA clearances.

During Q4, biopharmas brought in an aggregate $17.5bn in financing and device company fundraising totaled $1.9bn; while in vitro diagnostic firms and research tools players raised $848m.