LSI USA

  To level-set the discussion, Mullings began by asking the panelists to define what “open” and “closed” mean in the context of soft tissue robotics. Greg Roche, CEO of Distalmotion, put it simply: “Choice is the difference between open and closed. When you close something down, you limit the offering in the long term.” Roche argued that open systems allow surgeons and hospitals to pick best-in-class technologies across the surgical stack, building a custom ecosystem instead of being locked into a single vendor. Scott Huennekens, former CEO of Verb Surgical and longtime digital surgery leader, offered a broader systems view. “I never even liked the term ‘robotic surgery.’ I always preferred ‘digital surgery,’” he said. “It’s not just about the robot. It’s about instruments, connectivity, data, analytics, and precision guidance, all working together.” For more information visit here:  https://anyflip.com/ybicl/nomu/basic

At LSI USA ’25, the question wasn’t whether soft tissue robotics will reshape surgery, but how. In a panel titled Soft Tissue Robotics: Open Architecture or Closed System? The Road Forward , industry leaders tackled one of the field’s most urgent debates: whether future surgical platforms should embrace openness or remain tightly integrated. Moderated by Joe Mullings of The Mullings Group, the conversation spanned technical ecosystems, innovation bottlenecks, surgeon preferences, and investment models. The verdict? There’s no single answer, but the stakes for patients, startups, and strategics have never been higher. Defining the Debate in Soft Tissue Robotics To level-set the discussion, Mullings began by asking the panelists to define what “open” and “closed” mean in the context of soft tissue robotics. Greg Roche, CEO of Distalmotion, put it simply: “Choice is the difference between open and closed. When you close something down, you limit the offering in the long term.” Roche a...