Surgical Robots

Catherine Mohr (middle) and the Da Vinci Robot in surgery (images: © 2011 Intuitive Surgical, Inc.)

New Zealand-born Catherine Mohr is the Director of Medical Research at Intuitive Surgical, a US company which developed the Da Vinci surgical robot.

This robot stands on one side of the patient's bed while the surgeon looks down at a 3D console and can manipulate the robot's strong, wristed arms with special controllers.

The Da Vinci robot is used for minimally invasive, laproscopic (or keyhole) surgery. Laparoscopic surgery provides better outcomes for the patient because it uses small incisions but is often limited to very simple procedures. The Da Vinci robot can provide an alternative to traditional open surgery (with a large incision) or enables a broader range of laproscopic surgical procedures.

Catherine Mohr travels to New Zealand regularly, and spoke at the Running Hot Conference in 2009.

Or view Catherine Mohr's TED talk: Surgery's past, present and robotic future

Ruth Beran catches up with Catherine Mohr in Auckland to find out more about the Da Vinci Robot.