Versius Surgical Robotic System Launches in First Public Hospital in France
- Argenteuil Hospital near Paris has become the first public hospital in France to begin using Versius to perform minimal access (keyhole) surgery
- This launch follows a major call for tenders that enabled Versius to be selected by Resah, whose central purchasing agency pools more than €1 billion of purchases in France
CAMBRIDGE, UK – 13 OCTOBER 2020. 00:01 (BST). CMR Surgical (CMR) today announced the launch of its Versius® Surgical Robotic System at Argenteuil Hospital, a leading public health centre based near Paris, France. The announcement follows a competitive tender win for Versius, which has now been selected as a preferred surgical robotic system for minimal access surgery (MAS) by Resah – one of the largest public purchasing centres in the health sector, which collaborates with more than 700 public and private non-profit hospital, medico-social and social centres. The news today highlights Versius’ value to leading healthcare systems across the world and reinforces its role in driving forward a new era of accessible and adaptable surgical robotics.
Per Vegard Nerseth, Chief Executive Officer of CMR Surgical commented: “It is great to be able to introduce Versius to a reputable, public centre such as Argenteuil Hospital. Argenteuil Hospital has acquired the system after we were selected by Resah, as part of one of the largest tenders in the country, following a competitive process. This means hundreds more hospitals in France now have the option of benefitting from Versius.”
Argenteuil Hospital has acquired its Versius system to support a range of surgical procedures that may benefit significantly from being performed via robotic MAS. These include urological and gynaecological surgery.
Dr Hubert Oro, Urologist at Argenteuil Hospital commented: “We are delighted to announce the introduction of Versius at Argenteuil Hospital. This is ground-breaking technology that offers the precision, versatility and freedom that surgeons need during minimal access procedures. In just one single system we have all the options we need – we can use a single robotic arm, for an emergency case, or have three arms working together to complete a range of complex, lengthy procedures. In short, Versius adapts completely to our needs and will strengthen our surgical capabilities, enabling us to significantly improve patient care.”
Versius brings next-generation technology to MAS. It can be moved easily and used in virtually any operating room. It also offers a route to making surgical robotics more routinely available, addressing inequity in access to surgical robotics technology. Across France, over 1,500 hospitals currently perform MAS, yet only 6% of medium-sized public hospitals have a robotic surgery department.i Versius aims to offer an innovative solution to this challenge, making MAS far more accessible.
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Media Contacts:
If you wish to see more, please contact CMR Surgical at:
Sarah Ghabina / Ashley Davis-Marin
Global Communications Manager / Senior Communications Executive, CMR Surgical
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Tim Cockroft, akt health communications
T +44(0) 7957 325 583
E tim@akthealthcomms.com
Notes to Editors:
About The Resah Group Tender
The Resah public interest grouping (GIP) has one of the largest public purchasing groups in France, with 10 purchasing channels covering most of the needs of establishments. It has pooled €1.2 billion in purchases in 2019. It works with more than 700 establishments throughout France in the health, medico-social and social sector in the field of pooling and professionalising purchasing.
About Versius at Argenteuil Hospital
Versius aims to ensure that surgeons and hospitals are able to provide patients with the highest quality of surgical care. At Argenteuil Hospital it has been used to perform a range of procedures across numerous disciplines. These include urological surgery and gynaecological surgery. Such procedures are often complex and may last for many hours. Using robotic MAS in these cases can significantly lower physical strain for the surgeon, may reduce recovery time for a patient from weeks to days and can lower the risk of surgical site infections – an issue that is estimated to cost health services across Europe up to €19 billion per annum.ii
Argenteuil Hospital treats over 35,700 patients each year, conducting circa 6,500 surgeries. While historically robotic MAS has been prohibitively expensive for many hospitals (particularly public-funded hospitals). CMR Surgical has designed Versius to be versatile, and cost effective, available through financial models that offer budget certainty and support regular use of the system.
The Versius® Surgical Robotic System
Versius® resets expectations of robotic surgery. Versius fits into virtually any operating room set-up and integrates seamlessly into existing workflows, increasing the likelihood of robotic minimal access surgery (MAS). The portable and modular design of Versius allows the surgeon to only use the number of arms needed for a given procedure.
Biomimicking the human arm, Versius gives surgeons the choice of optimised port placement alongside the dexterity and accuracy of small fully-wristed instruments. With 3D HD vision, easy-to adopt instrument control and a choice of ergonomic working positions, the open surgeon console has the potential to reduce stress and fatigue and allows for clear communication with the surgical team. By thinking laparoscopically and operating robotically with Versius, patients, surgeons and healthcare professionals can all benefit from the value that robotic MAS brings.
About CMR Surgical Limited
CMR Surgical (CMR) is a global medical devices company dedicated to transforming surgery with Versius®, a next-generation surgical robot.
Headquartered in Cambridge, United Kingdom, CMR is committed to working with surgeons, surgical teams and hospital partners, to provide an optimal tool to make robotic minimal access surgery universally accessible and affordable. With Versius, we are on a mission to redefine the surgical robotics market with practical, innovative technology and data that can improve surgical care.
Founded in 2014, CMR Surgical is a private limited company backed by an international shareholder base.
References
iDr Jean-Claude COUFFINHAL. Report on the professional impact, HR, organisation and population of the progressive territorial deployment of surgical robots in public university hospitals in the Ile-de-France region and outside the CHU. Regional Health Agency of Ile de France. June 2019
iiDavid J Leaper et al., Surgical site infection – a European perspective of incidence of economic burden. International Wound Journal. December 2004.