In this episode, host Dr. Vipul Patel sits down with Rocco De Bernardis at the Society of Robotic Surgery (SRS) meeting to discuss a major milestone in medical technology: the FDA approval of Johnson & Johnson's OTTAVA robotic system. Designed directly with surgeon input, OTTAVA departs from traditional robotic platforms by serving as the world's first table-integrated soft tissue robotic system. By eliminating cumbersome booms and carts, its intelligent arms store neatly beneath a standard operating table, optimizing room space and seamlessly accommodating open, laparoscopic, and robotic workflows across ten initial general surgery indications.

The conversation explores J&J's holistic vision for the operating room, featuring upcoming integrations of trusted Ethicon instrumentation and Polyphonic—an open digital and AI platform built to turn fragmented OR data into actionable insights. De Bernardis shares the strategy behind targeting general surgery first, plans for upcoming clinical trials in urology and gynecology, and how OTTAVA aims to coexist alongside established systems through a thoughtful, phased global rollout. Tune in to hear how years of engineering perseverance and surgical partnership are opening a new chapter for surgical choice and patient care.

In this episode, Managing Director Sue O'Sullivan sits down with Mischa Dohler, Vice President of Emerging Technologies at Ericsson, to preview the upcoming SRS annual meeting starting on July 23rd. Dohler describes the event as a unique, 360-degree ecosystem gathering that brings together not just robotic surgeons, but also networking companies, legal experts, insurance representatives, and regulators like the FDA.

They highlight how telesurgery has rapidly matured from an experimental niche into a viable commercial reality capable of saving lives and closing the global health equity gap, as demonstrated by successful trans-Atlantic surgeries. The conversation also previews the cutting-edge future of physical AI, highlighting how humanoid droids can utilize 5G and edge cloud computing to assist with hospital and operating room tasks.

Dohler teasers his involvement co-chairing three key sessions at the upcoming meeting: one focusing on telesurgery connectivity (including satellite options like Starlink), another addressing regulatory and insurance bottlenecks with key FDA stakeholders, and a final session on whether autonomous AI will complement or supersede human surgeons. With over 3,000 registrants already signed up, O'Sullivan and Dohler encourage listeners to register at srobotics.org to take part in these industry-shaping discussions.

Welcome to this episode of the Society of Robotic Surgery (SRS) podcast series, hosted by past president Dr. Martin Martino. In this premiere episode, Dr. Martino sits down with fellow past president and close friend, Dr. Sharona Ross, to explore her extraordinary journey through medicine and life.

Dr. Ross details her path from shadowing a pathologist at age 13 in Ashdod, Israel, to navigating mandatory military service as the head of a base clinic. She recounts her subsequent rise as a pioneering surgeon, mastering complex hepatopancreaticobiliary (HPB) and foregut surgeries and completing nearly 500 robotic Whipple procedures.

The conversation also dives deep into Dr. Ross's groundbreaking work with single-incision laparoscopy and her 16-year legacy founding the international Women in Surgery community. She opens up about surviving a severe, life-altering bicycle accident that resulted in a traumatic brain injury and temporary paralysis. Detailing her rapid recovery and return to the operating room, she shares how this experience transformed her perspective on work-life balance, the values of the younger generation, and the power of female mentorship.

Links for Society of Robotic Surgery

LinkedIn | YouTube | SRobotics.org

We are pleased to announce the inaugural episode of the Society of Robotic Surgery Podcast, which will be released twice monthly. The first episode features a discussion between Dr. Vipul Patel and Dr. Jacques Marescaux about the planning and execution of the Lindbergh I and II robotic telesurgeries. Dr. Marescaux performed the first-ever transatlantic robotic telesurgery from Strasbourg, France on a patient in New York City in 2001. Dr. Patel performed the first-ever FDA-approved robotic telesurgery from Orlando on a patient in Angola in June, 2025. This insightful conversation highlights how both Dr. Patel and Dr. Marescaux overcame skepticism in the regulatory community and technological challenges to perform these groundbreaking procedures.

The SRS podcast will highlight the complex issues of robotic surgery and robotic telesurgery. It will feature conversations with some of the best multi-disciplined surgeons, specialists and medical professionals in the world. Additionally, the SRS podcast will include insights from stakeholders in the fields of medicine, surgery, surgical education, telecommunications, medical technology, government regulation and hospital administration as they tackle pertinent issues related to the future of robotic surgery, establishment of telesurgery and implementation of surgical AI technology.

We'll release a new episode every other Thursday. Episodes can be found at SRobotics.org, YouTube, and across all major podcast platforms.

Also, we would be thrilled to have you join us at the upcoming SRS Annual Conference held July 23-26 at the Diplomat Beach Resort in Hollywood, Fla. For more information and to register please click here. The SRS Annual Conference is the premiere gathering of innovators shaping the future of robotic surgery.