Johnson & Johnson to submit application to start trials for surgical robot

OTTAVA reimagines the surgical experience. The system is designed to create space in the operating room (OR), simplify complex workflows, enable flexibility for clinical approaches, and deliver the trusted performance of Ethicon instrumentation.

“Johnson & Johnson was born in surgery with the advent of sterile sutures, and we have since helped surgeons improve care for patients by offering transformative technologies across all types of surgery,” said Hani Abouhalka, Company Group Chairman, Robotics & Digital, Johnson & Johnson MedTech. “We believe the future of surgery is personal. Starting with the human impact – the connection between the patient, surgeon, and OR staff – we are unlocking what science and technology can do to improve the surgical experience and health outcomes for everyone involved. OTTAVA is designed to consistently deliver this experience in any OR globally.”

Designed to seamlessly integrate into the OR for new clinical experiences, OTTAVA incorporates four robotic arms into a standard size surgical table. This unified architecture allows for an invisible design, with the robotic arms available when needed or stowed under the surgical table when not. The design removes barriers to movement and collaboration in robotic operating rooms and offers surgical teams the freedom and flexibility to adapt to clinical workflows and individualized patient needs.

The system’s “twin motion” feature – unified movement of the table and the robotic arms – is designed to allow surgical teams to address important clinical needs during surgery, such as the ability to reposition a patient without interrupting the procedure.

“Today, the majority of ORs are not robotic because they were not built with a robot in mind,” said Dr. Eduardo Parra-Davila, a Colorectal and General Surgeon at the Palm Beach Digital Institute. “The industry needs a system that is adaptable, easy to use in any OR in the world, and maintains space in the OR. As surgeons, we need space to improve the workflow in the OR, increase safety, and enable 360-degree patient access so we can perform at the capacity that we would like to. That’s where OTTAVA comes in. OTTAVA offers a unique design that incorporates into any OR and allows surgeons to do what they would like to do and know how to do, which is focus on the patient.”

“I want consistency and reliability across the instruments I use,” said Dr. Erik Wilson, Chief of Minimally Invasive and Elective General Surgery at the University of Texas Health Science Center in Houston. “Often today, I am required to use instruments with variable utility and functionality between traditional laparoscopic procedures and robotic-assisted procedures. Access to the reliable Ethicon laparoscopic instruments on a robotic platform would be useful to operate with less variability regardless of surgical modality.”

When authorized for commercial launch, OTTAVA will join Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s portfolio of commercially available robotic systems, including the MONARCH Platform and the VELYS Robotic-Assisted Solution, and will be backed by the company’s global team of specialists in surgical education and clinical training.

The OTTAVA robotic system is under development and is not authorized to be marketed or sold in any market.