James R. Porter, MD, discusses Hugo RAS’s learning curve, modular design

In this video, James R. Porter, MD, a urologist with Swedish Health Services in Seattle, Washington and chief medical officer for Medtronic Robotic Surgical Technologies and Digital Technologies, offers perspective on the Hugo robot-assisted surgery system upon its entering the US market.

On the learning curve, Porter emphasizes that American urologists are the world's most experienced robotic surgery community, having practiced the discipline longer and in greater numbers than any other specialty or country. As a result, transitioning to Hugo is not about learning robotic surgery from scratch—it's about mastering Hugo-specific nuances: how the system moves, optimal arm positioning, and adjusted port placement to reach target anatomy. He notes that port placement has evolved with every generation of existing robotic platforms, so surgeons are already accustomed to that kind of adaptation. International data, where Hugo has been approved since 2021, confirms that urologists adopt the system quickly and perform procedures safely and effectively.

On Hugo's modular arm architecture, Porter contrasts it with the traditional "boom" design that has dominated robotic surgery for over 2 decades. The boom system works well when operating in a single anatomical zone, but Hugo's independent arm carts offer greater flexibility and range, enabling surgeons to cover a larger area of the abdomen. This has already sparked novel surgical approaches outside the US that weren't possible with boom-based systems. Although docking 4 individual arms initially takes longer than a single boom cart, surgeons typically achieve five-to-six-minute full docking times within 10 to 15 cases—comparable to existing platforms.

Overall, Porter presents Hugo as a natural evolution for experienced robotic urologists, with a manageable learning curve and meaningful workflow and anatomical-access advantages.