GenAI will help robotic surgery transform healthcare in India: Top tech evangelist

NEW DELHI: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) and emerging technologies will help robotic surgery become a standard of care in healthcare facilities in dozens of Indian cities in the near future, offering relief to those in need of improved quality of life after successful procedures, Indian-origin technology visionary and business leader said on Sunday.

The use of AI and new-age technologies will help see a robust growth in the number of robot-assisted surgeries for both soft tissues and joint replacement each year, Raj Vattikuti, who founded the Vattikuti Foundation in the state of Michigan in the US, told IANS.

“Furthermore, we anticipate increased involvement from government institutions in enhancing access to robotic surgery for disadvantaged sections of the population,” he added.

He founded Covansys Corp in the US in 1985, Covansys was among the early US firms to establish a large offshore development facility in Chennai, serving prestigious clients.

In 2007, he sold Covansys to Computer Sciences Corporation for $1.2 billion.

In 1997, the entrepreneur, along with his wife Padma, established the Vattikuti Foundation with a $20 million contribution to improve the quality of human life.

They set up the Vattikuti Urology Institute (VUI) at the Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit, Michigan, making it a flagship institution for robotic surgery in the US.

Today, the robotic surgery procedures for Urology developed at VUI are considered the gold standard and have been adopted worldwide.

Over the past 25 years, the Foundation has established a network of academic robotic surgery institutes globally, partnering with renowned hospital systems in the US, Europe, the UK, and India.

"Since 2010, the Foundation has engaged with several hospitals in India, trained over 500 surgeons to become accomplished robotic surgeons and offered full year paid fellowships to over 50 surgeons to grow this pool of accomplished surgeons,” Vattikuti told IANS.

According to him, the success of the Vattikuti Foundation can be attributed to their pioneering work in India, which ignited a robotic surgery revolution.

“The Foundation played a pivotal role in evangelising robotic surgery, which is now operational in over 100 hospitals across India. Patients with comorbidities have benefited immensely by getting superior outcomes. Reduction in the number of days of hospital stay has enabled the healthcare system to offer scarce hospital beds to more patients,” he added.

The Foundation's recent focus on AI and Metaverse sessions at the "Humans at the Cutting Edge of Technology" symposium in Ghent, Belgium, provided insight into how human ingenuity will continue to advance patient outcomes.

“We are committed to further investing and strengthening our capabilities in data, generative AI, and emerging technologies,” said Vattikuti.