Intuitive Surgical opens Korean innovation, training center

Robotic surgical giant Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) opened the doors this week on a new $8.9 million surgical innovation training center on South Korea, according to a Korea Herald report.

The new 39,008-square-foot center is located inside the Sangam DMC High-Tech Industry Center in Seoul and features five training stations with a total of seven da Vinci systems, as well as other equipment for meetings and training, according to the report.

The center is the fourth of its kind worldwide and includes two demo rooms where surgeons and non-surgeons can learn about the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company’s robotic surgical platform and get hands-on experience with it, the Korea Herald reports.

Intuitive first entered Korea in 2005, with the 1st robotic surgery performed with its systems at the Yonsei University’s Severance Hospital taking place that year, according to the report. A total of 69 da Vinci systems are deployed in Korea at 51 hospitals.

“Why are we investing in Korea? The reason is Korean surgeons share our culture of innovation. We find here something you do well — a drive and interest by Korean surgeons to create better options for not only patients in Korea, but also patients around the world,” prez & CEO Gary Guthart said, according to the Korea Herald.

Korean surgeons were the 1st to apply robotic procedures for colon and rectal surgeries, as well as taking global leadership in head and neck surgeries, Guthart said.

The company said it is hopeful that the surgical training centers will both improve training and inspire innovation around robotic-based procedures, according to the report.

“Training centers afford us the opportunity to human performance research. They provide more than skill acquisition. They can improve the general knowledge of the surgeon population about what works and what doesn’t work,” Guthart said, according to the Korea Herald.