Treating premature liver cancer is now possible thanks to robotics. Quantum Surgical has developed a robot, Epione, which offers a minimally invasive technique for the patient and allows cancer to be treated much more effectively.
“We are not replacing the doctor, it is a tool that is there to help you,” explains Bertin Nahum, president and co-founder of Quantum Surgical and a guest at Tech&Co. It is a painstaking act to reach out and attack a tumor that is a few millimeters in diameter in a breathing patient. The robot will help the doctor to place the ablation needle.”
100 patients already operated
This alternative to traditional surgery offers many benefits for both the patient and the doctor. Opening of the abdomen is not necessary. Thus, postoperative recovery becomes much easier.
The treatment process takes place in several stages. First, the doctor collects the data from the scans and MRIs performed by the patient and then feeds it into the robot. In this way, the robot will be able to orient the trajectory of the ablation needle in an extremely precise manner.
“We continue to have an artisanal surgery that depends essentially on the practitioner and his form of the day. With robotics we will have a much more egalitarian performance among patients”, points out Bertin Nahum.
100 patients have already been operated with this new technology. “Less than 10% of eligible people benefit from this treatment because we do not have enough professionals to perform this act. We are here to standardize this approach,” adds the Quantum Surgical co-founder.
Treat cancer at an early stage
The main objective of this robot is to treat cancer earlier than with conventional surgery. Traditional procedures often require a longer waiting time as they require a larger tumor to be treated.
Today, liver cancer affects around 3.2 million people worldwide. This type of disease caused the death of 830,000 people in 2020. Liver cancer is the third most deadly type of cancer and the sixth most common.
But other types of cancer are or will soon be treated by the Quantum Surgical robot, as Bertin Nahum announced: “We started with the liver but we extended the robot to other organs such as the kidney, the pancreas. capable of treating bone and lung cancers.
Good news for the medical community, which can now rely heavily on technology. “In some cases, such as in orthopedics, the robotic act has become the standard. We are in this phase where technology is entering the operating room in an important way”, concluded Bertin Nahum.
Source: BFM TV
