SS Innovations International Inc. successfully performed India’s first north-to-south robotic cardiac telesurgery, bridging a 2,000-kilometer distance between the company’s headquarters in Gurugram, New Delhi, and the Aster CMI Hospital in Bengaluru.

Using the SSi Mantra 3 Surgical Robotic System, the company is confident the robotic cardiac telesurgery opens the door to significant advancements in Indian healthcare. The long-distance robotic-assisted intracardiac telesurgery was performed on a 35-year-old patient and lasted for two hours and 40 minutes. The procedure closed a complex Atrial Septal Defect (ASD), a congenital condition characterized by a small hole between the heart’s two upper chambers. The procedure was led by SS Innovations Founder/Chairman/CEO Dr. Sudhir Srivastava (from Gurugram) and was supported by Dr. Arul Furtado, a consultant of Cardiovascular & Thoracic Surgery at Aster CMI Hospital, Bengaluru. The surgery demonstrated exceptional precision, achieving a low latency.

“This is a defining moment for the future of surgical care in India. With telesurgery powered by the SSi Mantra 3—designed for India, for the world, we are bridging healthcare gaps and ensuring surgical expertise reaches even the most remote areas,” Srivastava said. “By seamlessly connecting north to south India, we have demonstrated how distance is no longer a barrier to advanced medical care. With approval from the CDSCO (the Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, India’s equivalent of the U.S. FDA), we are not just pushing technological boundaries but fulfilling our mission to democratize robotic surgery. Telesurgery is revolutionizing healthcare, eliminating the need for patients to travel and making advanced surgical care truly accessible and affordable.”

SS Innovations’ journey in telesurgery began with an initial procedure at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre (RGCIRC) in Delhi, remotely executed from the SSI office in Gurugram, covering a 40-kilometer distance. Building on this success, the next milestone connected SS Innovations headquarters in Gurugram with Manipal Hospital in Jaipur, Rajasthan, spanning 286 kilometers. This latest surgery (2,000 kilometers) demonstrates the future potential of remote surgical care. By enabling real-time expertise shared through telesurgery and tele-proctoring, SS Innovations is addressing gaps in surgical access and precision. The successful tele-surgeries performed to date highlight the potential of advanced robotic technologies to enhance precision and quality in surgical interventions. Telesurgery not only overcomes geographical constraints but also reduces the need for patients to travel long distances for specialized medical care, the company noted.

Related: SS Innovations Debuts India’s First Mobile Tele-Surgical Unit

With the capability of performing telesurgeries across thousands of kilometers, new possibilities are opened for accessible, high-quality healthcare across India and globally. As SS Innovations continues to enhance its technologies, the focus remains on practical solutions that enhance surgical efficiency, expand access to specialized care, and improve patient outcomes across India and beyond.

“Performing our first robotic intracardiac telesurgery for an Atrial Septal Defect on a young patient in his mid-thirties was both a valuable learning experience and a significant milestone for our institution. As our first approach into robotic cardiac telesurgery, the experience was seamless, and the SSi Mantra 3 Surgical Robotic System proved to be incredibly user-friendly, allowing us to perform the procedure with precision and confidence,” Dr. Furtado stated. “The team was highly encouraged by the success of this telesurgery, reinforcing the vital role we believe robotic-assisted surgery will play in the future of cardiac care. What sets the SSi Mantra 3 apart from other robotic platforms is its design—developed by a cardiac surgeon with extensive experience in robotic cardiac surgery. This unique insight gives it a distinct advantage, making it highly adaptable and tailored to the needs of cardiac surgeons. As we move forward, I believe robotic telesurgery has the ability to redefine access to specialized surgical care, and today’s procedure marks just the beginning of this transformation.”

The SSi Mantra Surgical Robotic System is a modular multi-arm system with many advanced technology features. It allows for the use of three to five robotic arms, has an open-faced ergonomic Surgeon Command Centre, a 32-inch large 3D 4K monitor, a 23-inch 2D Touch panel monitor for all patient related information display, a virtual real-time image of the robotic Patient Side Arm Carts, and the ability for superimposition of 3D diagnostic imaging models. The Vision Cart gives the table-side team the same magnified 3D 4K view as the surgeon to provide better safety and efficiency. The modular robotic arms give flexibility in positioning and the number of arms to be used. This allows for collision-free conduct of surgical operations. There are more than 40 different types of robotic endo-surgical instruments that can be used for different specialties including cardiac surgery. The learning curve for surgeons is shorter due to the SSi Mantra’s ergonomic design and user-friendly features.

The SSi Mantra has been clinically validated in India in more than 90 different types of surgical procedures. SS Innovations has commenced the regulatory approval process in the United States and the European Union and expects to win U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and CE Mark approval in the second half of 2025.

SS Innovations International Inc.’s product range includes its proprietary “SSi Mantra” surgical robotic system, and “SSi Mudra” range of surgical instruments capable of supporting various procedures, including robotic cardiac surgery. SS Innovations’ business operations are headquartered in India and the company plans to expand the presence of its technologically advanced, user-friendly, and cost-effective surgical robotic solutions, globally.