Japanese doctors perform first remote-controlled robot surgeries to treat bowel cancer

Beginning in August, a team of surgeons from Hirosaki University Hospital and Tsugaru General Hospital performed five bowel-cancer resections with a remotely operated surgical robot called "hinotori". In each case, a surgeon at the patient’s bedside operated the robot while a second doctor controlled the same system from a different location, marking Japan’s first clinical use of distributed robotic surgery. The robot was created by Medicaroid Corp., and the effort is backed by the Japan Surgical Society to address physician shortages and geographic disparities in surgical care.

Masaki Mori, a professor at Tokai University and head of the society’s remote-surgery committee, said the goal is to eliminate regional treatment gaps and hopes for commercial rollout within two years. The teams will continue the program through March to gather safety data before applying for regulatory clearance and national health-insurance reimbursement. If successful, the technology could spare patients long travel and reduce costs.