This is interesting but probably won't take off any time soon.

ISRG has always targeted the procedures with the most striking benefits to the patient. The benefits of this are less pronounced in that the daVinci surgery does not appear to be less invasive than the open version. It therefore is not likely to accrue most of the benefits associated with daVinci such as less pain, lower blood loss and quicker recovery. In this case the benefits indirectly accrue to the patient by making the doctor more comfortable and less fatigued. The biggest benefit of all would be the tremor reduction. It would seem that that would have to help outcomes over time. It's also likely that future developments such as real-time integrated imagery, pre-determined and robotically enforced "no fly/No cut" zones and special high-precision attachments might make the daVinci significantly better than the open alternative over time.

Which brings me to my favorite part of the story. The article mentions the use of "A laser instrument and prototype robotic burr and rongeur instruments" and goes on to say "With some modification of prototype and commercial instruments a posterior spine surgery instrument kit can be developed."

It is daVinci as a robotic surgery platform to integrate and control specialized tools that will, make daVinci outcomes superior, drive adoption and future sales.

The average instrument revenue per procedure has been dropping recently because the fastest growing procedure (benign hysterectomy) use relatively fewer instruments per procedure. The growth of procedures that utilize these specialized tools will drive those averages back in the other direction.