The Dijon University Hospital performed this Friday the first robotic-assisted renal angioplasty on a European scale. The success of this operation paves the way for many medical advances.
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“We had the chance to be a pilot site in France and in Europe“, welcomes Romaric Loffroy. For the head of the interventional imaging department of the Dijon University Hospital, angioplasty is a relatively common operation. This medical technique, which aims to dilate an artery to restore normal blood circulation in a patient, is performed around 300 times a year in the Dijon hospital.
The novelty comes from the use of a robot, developed by Siemens, to perform the operation. This robotic assistance has been used here to perform renal angioplasty, which is also uncommon since the practice is usually used for coronary arteries.
An innovation in “minimally invasive” techniques
The use of a robot benefits not only the doctor, who benefits from millimeter precision in his movements, but also the patient. It reduces the amount of radiation received by it by about 20%, while medical personnel suffer 95% less. Moreover, this mechanical assistance limits the use of full anesthesia and the post-operative risks, or even “small” inconveniences such as scars.
If the use of this technology is limited because of its cost, Romaric Loffroy is pleased that its service is one of the pioneers in Europe. “The prospect is the democratization of the use of this kind of robot. The objective would be to be able to treat patients remotely, for example.“
About a hundred of these robots are already in service worldwide for angioplasties performed on the heart. The list price displayed for such equipment is one million euros.
Report produced by Maryline Barate, Gabriel Talon and Margaux Martin.
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