Eminent UK Surgeon Comments on Freehand

Mr Aman Coonar, a consultant thoracic surgeon at Papworth Hospital, UK is a regular user of Freehand endoscopic camera controllers and recently shared his opinions online.

"I’m baffled how anyone finds a human better than a robotic scope holder for most longer or more complex minimally invasive surgery cases."

Freehand cobots are designed to be superior to human scope holders in many ways. Hospital administrators appreciate that Freehand robots do not require a salary, are very affordable, ready to deploy 24/7 and increase HR efficiency. However, Mr Coonar's reasons for using the system are different.

"Look at the tiny footprint of the Panorama system."

Both the Vista and the Panorama have a slim profile and offer a high degree of positioning flexibility, maximising the surgeon's freedom of movement within the operating environment. Surgeons often lack this freedom of movement as human assistants occupy a lot of space and may clash with the surgeon during operations.
"No tremor, much less scope soiling, less fatigue and more space. More comfortable for trainer. Few mins to set up and take down.

In this VATS lobectomy there was only 1 scope clean and see how it sits out of the way."

Eliminating the tremor associated with human scope holders allows the surgeon to work in more focussed way as the image they are working from is rock steady. The unwanted movement can make surgeons feel 'seasick' and results in tired, often bloodshot eyes. In longer operations these effects are particularly pronounced. The surgeon's assistant often suffers from pain associated with holding an unnatural posture for extended periods of time.

Humans may misunderstand the surgeons directions, clash with the surgeon, and will occasionally touch patient tissue, soiling the scope and necessitating a scope clean. Freehand becomes an extension of the surgeon's body, giving the surgeon control with natural head movements.

These advantages result in shorter operating times, fewer complications, better patient outcomes and increased surgeon wellbeing.

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