Sydney surgeon operates 7500km away via robot in remote surgery test
A Sydney surgeon named Associate Professor Ruban Thanigasalam controlled a surgical robot in Shanghai. The robot was 7500 kilometres away. He used 5G to guide it. He performed a demonstration operation.
A Sydney surgeon operated a robot in Shanghai that was 7500 kilometres away. This showed remote surgery can work over huge distances.
Associate Professor Ruban Thanigasalam used a console at Chris O'Brien Lifehouse. He guided the Toumai robot through a demonstration kidney surgery in China.
The system uses 5G networks. It has latency of less than 50 milliseconds.
This means almost no delay in control. It worked better than expected.
The actual latency was only 150 milliseconds. Australian hospitals need the right rules and legal approvals before using this on real patients.
Thanigasalam expects this within six months. The technology could let regional Australians access specialist cancer surgery.
They would not need to travel to Sydney. Families could stay at home.
Trained surgeons would operate from far away.
- 7500 kilometres
- Distance to robot
- Associate Professor Ruban Thanigasalam
- Surgeon
- 150 milliseconds
- Network latency achieved
- Within six months for legal approval
- Timeline to patient care
Why it mattersRemote surgery could let regional Australians reach specialist care. They would not need to spend money on travel. Expert surgeons could also teach others across the country.
AustraliaThis Australian-first test opens the path for rural and regional hospitals to offer advanced surgery without needing to build local expertise or patient travel.
✓ Claims checked against the source. checked 1 h ago
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