The pioneering procedure at Clinica Las Condes in Santiago combined magnetic surgical tools with autonomous camera software that tracked Funke’s every movement. The AI system adjusted camera angles and followed his instruments without any human guidance.
“The camera was following me wherever I moved my hands and the whole process was excellent,” Funke explained after completing the laparoscopic surgery. “This camera lets us do the surgery alone, I did it alone with the robot.”
This marks a dramatic shift from traditional operations where human assistants manually control surgical cameras. The magnetic instruments worked seamlessly with software that anticipated the surgeon’s needs, creating an entirely new surgical dynamic.
The technology comes from Levita Magnetics, whose CEO Alberto Rodriguez sees this as a watershed moment. “This is the first step in surgical automation with a real patient in the operating room where we showed that AI can help the surgeon,” Rodriguez stated.
Medical robotics represents a rapidly expanding frontier. The global surgical robot market reached $15.6 billion in 2024 and analysts project explosive growth to $64.4 billion by 2034, according to Precedence Research data.
Similar breakthroughs are emerging worldwide. Johns Hopkins University researchers in Baltimore recently demonstrated an AI-guided robot performing complex procedures on pig organs. Their July experiments on liver and gallbladder operations showed comparable precision to human surgeons.
These developments signal a fundamental transformation in surgical practice. While human expertise remains essential, AI assistance could revolutionize how operations are performed, potentially reducing the need for additional surgical staff while maintaining precision.
The Santiago procedure proves that autonomous surgical assistance has moved beyond laboratory testing into real-world patient care, opening new possibilities for medical treatment accessibility and surgical efficiency.
Written by Vytautas Valinskas
