Medtronic said it will expand its London office to create the company’s largest global digital center for Artificial Intelligence and robotics in surgery. The effort builds on local partnerships in the research and design of robotic-assisted capabilities and doubles both the size of the office, to 25,000 square feet, and the London workforce, to more than 200 people. The Medtronic Centre of Digital Excellence develops specialized computing and software for hospital operating rooms and has launched hundreds of Artificial Intelligence algorithms to help surgeons access post-procedure analytics, the company said. A mock robotic operating theater at the site enables on-location testing of new technologies.
The company said its digital technology supports surgical teams in planning, learning and collaboration with other experts, including through secure livestreaming. Capabilities in development include Artificial Intelligence-powered decision support for surgeons in real time. Medtronic sells its Hugo soft tissue robotic system in more than 30 countries, including in the U.K., and expects the robot to enter the U.S. market later in its current fiscal year, which ends in April 2026.
Separately, Virtuoso Surgical said its robotic system received the Food and Drug Administration’s breakthrough device designation for bladder lesion removal with en bloc resection. The technique removes the specimen intact, which the company said increases the accuracy of cancer staging and yields more definitive diagnoses compared to standard bladder tumor resection. While en bloc resection performed manually has been shown to lower cancer recurrence, Virtuoso noted the method is complex for surgeons to learn and perform. Its robotic system aims to enable wider adoption by facilitating the approach.
Using needle-sized robotic arms, the Virtuoso system is designed to improve surgeons’ dexterity and precision for difficult procedures. The company said its manipulators are smaller than other robotic surgical instruments, allowing surgeons to fit tools into areas of the body that were previously unreachable. The FDA’s breakthrough device program prioritizes review of manufacturer submissions and is intended to speed development, assessment and review for authorization. In May, Virtuoso said its system was used to perform bladder lesion excision in six patients during the pilot phase of the Viable trial at The Chinese University of Hong Kong.
