Robert Marchand, MD, estimates that he has performed 1,200 robotic joint replacements in 2020 and has live-streamed at least one case per day since the COVID-19 pandemic began, The Boston Globe reports.
Ten years ago, Dr. Marchand completed his first robotic-assisted joint replacement at South Kingstown, R.I.-based South County Hospital, where he is chief of orthopedic surgery.
He is a consultant for Stryker's Mako robot and advised in the development of recent advancements such as partial knee replacement.
In 2010, Mako began with five robots on the East Coast, including three in South County, R.I., Dr. Marchand told The Globe. "Move forward 10 years, there are 1,000 Mako machines in the world."
"Using this technology is more precise than what anyone could do manually. And precision transfers to better outcomes," he said.
Surgical robots presented a significant capital expense to institutions that wanted to acquire them in the early days, but can be more easily installed now through other financial means such as a lease, according to the surgeon.
Last year, about 900,000 robotic-assisted surgeries were performed in the U.S., equating to about 5 percent of all surgeries. By 2030, that figure is projected to increase to 17 percent, according to a medtech equity analyst with Goldman Sachs Research.