Medtronic Hugo robot-assisted surgery system
Medtronic’s Hugo robot-assisted surgery system [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it received a Health Canada license for use of the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system.

The company’s Brampton, Ontario-based Medtronic Canada subsidiary received the Health Canada license for use of Hugo in urologic and gynecologic laparoscopic surgical procedures.

According to a news release, those procedures make up about half of all robotic surgery procedures performed today.

“This license ushers in a new opportunity for healthcare in Canada, bringing the benefits of robotic-assisted surgery to more patients by addressing the historic cost and utilization barriers that have stifled robotic surgery adoption for two decades,” President of Medtronic’s Surgical Robotics Business Megan Rosengarten said in the release. “We’re beginning to see what the Hugo RAS system can do in the hands of clinicians in Latin America and Asia Pacific, and we’re excited to see the possibilities it creates in Canada.”

In May, Hugo garnered FDA investigational device exemption, followed by the first clinical procedure with Hugo in Chile, which Medtronic announced in May. The platform offers a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for a broad range of surgical procedures with wristed instruments, 3D visualization and surgical video capture option in Touch Surgery Enterprise.

Medtronic announced in October that it received CE mark approval for Hugo. In September, Rosengarten had told MassDevice that the company had been expecting to receive such approval to come within that time frame.

“Minimally invasive technology has a role to play in addressing the backlog of surgery in Canada. It can help optimize our precious healthcare human resources when patients spend less time in and out of the hospital, ” Medtronic Canada President Neil Fraser said. “Today in Canada, only 1–2% percent of surgeries are performed with robotic assistance. I’m proud that the launch of the Hugo system means we can help change that, and, more importantly, help to improve the patient and healthcare provider experience.”