King Charles tried his hand at operating a revolutionary surgical robot during a visit to the cancer centre at Guy's Hospital in London. The monarch was given a step-by-step presentation of the new fifth generation Da Vinci Surgical System, which enables smaller and more precise incisions during bladder surgery.
The robot, which is in the final stages of being approved for use by the NHS, will help to massively reduce patient operating and recovery time owing to its immense precision. After meeting Professor Ben Challacombe, Consultant Urological Surgeon, the King was offered the chance to sit on a stool and look through a headset to control the robotic hands on an operating table behind him.
On display was a small model of the internal bladder, with a five pound note placed in between it. Referencing minute text on the note, the professor said: “As you can see it is so precise that you can zoom in to such an extent you will see things that the human eye can not see.” Placing his fingers into the controls, the King struggled at first, remarking: “I think I'll have to come back after some more training.”
The Da Vinci series of machines have been used on 15,000 patients in the hospital in the last 20 years and two million people worldwide. The King later remarked how the robot was a “marvellous invention”.
In the hospital’s Chemotherapy Village, the King met patients being treated at the Cancer Centre. Raymond Burgess, 69, from South London, told the King how his chemotherapy treatment had left him unable to taste certain foods. The King replied: “It's an awful sort of metallic taste. It doesn't exactly help with eating!”
The visit formed part of the 300th anniversary of Guy’s Hospital. Scientists within the Innovation Hub are using advanced data science and AI to analyse large datasets, helping discover trends, improve accuracy of diagnoses and detect new targets for drugs. The monarch, who is Royal Patron of King’s College London, met with senior leadership and PhD students pushing the boundaries of cancer research.
