Bengaluru: The annual ‘Humans at the cutting edge of robotic surgery’ academic symposium opened here on Saturday with experts Sherry M Wren of Stanford University and Ahmed Ghazi of Johns Hopkins University, urging surgeons from Asia, Europe and Americas to adopt new approaches in surgical innovation and using simulation in their practice.

A discussion on emerging use of Augmented Reality and adoption of AI techniques in robotic surgery between Daniele Amparore, San Luigi Gonzaga Hospital, Italy; Giovanni E Cacciamani, University of Southern California, USA and Alexandre Mottrie, Orsi Academy, Belgium brought out the immense potential and attendant risks.

Information Technology entrepreneur and Vattikuti Foundation founder Mr Raj Vattikuti said, “By focusing on robotic technology and surgeon education the Vattikuti Foundation has proven the transformative power of innovative technology in revitalizing patients' health at the hands of inventive humans.

“The Foundation remains steadfast in its commitment to achieving exceptional outcomes at the hands of pioneering specialists and Vattikuti Fellows,” Vattikuti announced to the attendees at the Orsi campus at Ghent, a port town northwest of Brussels.

The Foundation also unveiled the names of robotic surgeons whose video contributions to The KS International Innovation Awards 2023 for robotic surgery made it to the top 10 list from over 140 entries from surgeons in 14 countries that vied for the top spots in procedures in urology, gynaecology, gastro-intestinal, organ transplant and head & neck specialties.

Entries by surgeons from Belgium, India and the USA made it to the top 10 list.

Entries by three surgeons from India -- Somashekhar SP, Aster Hospitals, Bengaluru; Dr Sandeep Nayak, Fortis Cancer Institute, Bengaluru and Dr Aditya Kulkarni, Ruby Hall Clinic, Pune – emerged among the top 10 entries.

Five surgical video entries from the United States -- Erica Stockwell, AdventHealth; Jihad Kaouk, Cleveland Clinic; Sierra J Seaman and Arnold P Advincula, Columbia University Irving Medical; Ahmed Ghazi, Johns Hopkins University, and Adeel Khan, Washington University, St. Louis -- made to the list.

Innovative videos by Pieter De Backer and team of Jasper Hofman, Alex Mottrie, Pieter De Backer and Jente Simoens from the Orsi Academy, were the two entries from Belgium in the top 10 list.

The top 10 list was the result of a multi-stage judging by Vattikuti Foundation experts followed by an independent international jury of surgeons made up of Dr James Peabody, Henry Ford Health System and Krishna Bhatta, Northern Light Health Eastern Main Medical Centre from the USA and Dr Subhash Khanna, Swagat Super Specialty Surgical Institute, Guwahati, India.

The annual competition is held in memory of Mr Krishnaswamy Subrahmaniam.  Fondly known as “KS” by his friends and colleagues, he is revered as an extraordinary human at the cutting edge for his outstanding contribution to the establishment and progress of robotic surgery in India. He is remembered for the impact he made through efforts to expand robotic surgery programs in India and beyond.

“The unmatched zeal and commitment of KS to spur the power of Robotic Surgery in India is what KS Awards celebrate. The innovation awards program seeks to discover and recognise new surgical talent, uncover cutting-edge procedures through instructional robotic surgery videos to benefit a growing generation of surgeons to improve patient outcomes,” says Mahendra Bhandari, CEO, Vattikuti Foundation.

An eminent international jury panel will announce the top three prize-winning entries at the close of the event. The winning surgeons will receive USD 10,000, USD 3,000, and USD 2,000 as first, second and third cash prize.

Video submission on robot-assisted total knee transplant by orthopedic surgeon Dr Suhas Masilamani, Sunshine Bone & Joint Institute and KIMS-Sunshine Hospital, Hyderabad won the people’s choice award based on rankings by surgeons from 63 countries. Over 8100 people viewed the shortlisted video entries opened up for people’s choice.