Doctor steady

Mantra could bridge the global disparity in access to robotic surgeries

- SNEHA BHURA

Dr Sudhir Srivastava has one vision: “Only a patient should be there in an operating room. Other functions can be carried out automatically.” This might sound like Covid-resonant remote working for the hospital staff, but the veteran medical professional has been advocating robotic cardiac surgery for more than a decade. At one point, he held the world record for conducting the most robotic cardiac surgeries (1,400). This year, he is ready to launch his multi-arm novel robotic assistant—‘Mantra’ Surgical Robotic System, developed by his Gurugram-based company, SS Innovations (SSI).

“When the pandemic struck last year, it led to a shutdown of elective surgeries for a while,” says Srivastava. “Health care tech was exempt from this lockdown and that allowed our team in India to focus and refine this medical technology. And finally, after three years in the making, we are ready to launch Mantra in the market in the next four months.” Srivastava moved to India in 2011 after years of practice in the US. In 2003, he and 10 other physicians had founded Alliance Hospital, a centre of excellence in cardiovascular disease in Texas.

Robot-assisted surgery marries advanced computer technology to the skill of a surgeon, who can now read 10x magnified, high-definition, 3D images of a patient's anatomy while manipulating smaller, more manoeuvrable surgical instruments from a console far away. The robotic arms simulate the hand movements of a surgeon, without the tremors, perspiration and subsequent anxiety.