Therefore, it shouldn't come as a surprise that a new-and-improved model has just been announced. Among other things, the da Vinci Xi Surgical System promises a greater range of motion and more reach than its predecessor.

 

Like the regular da Vinci, the Xi is designed for performing minimally-invasive surgery. It does so using robotic arms equipped with long skinny surgical instruments, along with an endoscopic camera, that enter the patient's abdomen or chest via relatively small incisions.

Using a separate control system, the surgeon views real-time 3D HD video output from the camera and remotely operates the arms accordingly, in order to perform the desired procedure within the patient's body. Although that control system is often situated right in the operating room alongside the robot, it could be located as far away as another part of the world.