I am an OR nurse, and I work daily with the DaVinci robot. I can tell you from practical experience that while DaVinci was/is a game changer, the biggest complaints about it are as follows:
1. Too big of a footprint in the room. Although it can be moved to different rooms if need be, it is not advisable. And it is quite difficult to do. So a room is dedicated to the robot. This makes doing other cases in that room difficult, so smaller cases are usually put in that room. And along with all of the other new equipment constantly coming out, footprint in the surgery suite is increasingly important.
2. Cost. DaVinci is very expensive to initially buy and then maintain. Instruments have certain lifespans so new instruments and supplies keep the cost per case high. On a cost per case basis, laparoscopic without the robot is cheaper and quicker. This brings me to my next point.
3. DaVinci still uses laparoscopic instruments. The tip of the instruments do act as a wrist, and this was one of the original selling points. It drastically different at the time. But it is still awkward and doesn’t completely address the laparoscopic instrument issues.
4. Because of the previous reasons, smaller surgery hospitals are reluctant to dive into the robot arena. DaVinci has a complete lock on the market, and they don’t need to come down on their pricing model. ( And I don’t blame them)
Titan seems to understand these issues. If so, there is a whole lot of business to be had. I would rather they do it right, instead of rushing to get an inferior product to market. They give the surgeon not only a wrist but an elbow also. And with a smaller footprint at a lower cost. This is he wave of the future. Smaller and cost per case efficiency is paramount.