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Review
. 2021 May;10(5):2151-2157.
doi: 10.21037/tau.2019.11.33.

Diffusion and adoption of the surgical robot in urology

Anup A Shah  1 , Jathin Bandari  1 , Daniel Pelzman  1 , Benjamin J Davies  1 , Bruce L Jacobs  1
Affiliations
Review

Diffusion and adoption of the surgical robot in urology

Anup A Shah et al. Transl Androl Urol. 2021 May.

Abstract

Over the last two decades, robotic surgery has become a mainstay in hospital systems around the world. Leading this charge has been Intuitive Surgical Inc.'s da Vinci robotic system (Sunnyvale, CA, USA). Through its innovative technology and unique revenue model, Intuitive has installed 4,986 robotic surgical systems worldwide in the last two decades. The rapid rate of adoption and diffusion of the surgical robot has been propelled by many important industry-specific factors. In this review, we propose a model that explains the successful adoption of robotic surgery due to its three core groups: the surgeon, the hospital administrator, and the patient.

Keywords: Robotic surgery; da Vinci robot; intuitive surgical; robotic prostatectomy; technology adoption.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form (available at http://dx.doi.org/10.21037/tau.2019.11.33). The series “Controversies in Minimally Invasive Urologic Oncology” was commissioned by the editorial office without any funding or sponsorship. The authors have no other conflicts of interest to declare.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The “diffusion of innovation” model. As consumers adopt a technology (blue curve), its overall market share increases in logistic fashion (red curve) until market saturation is reached. Near the end of the “early majority” phase at roughly 50% overall adoption, a critical mass is achieved, after which a technology is generally able to sustain itself (20).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Adoption of the robot requires engagement from three essential stakeholders: patient, surgeon, and hospital administrator.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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