The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow has deployed the Versius Plus system to perform minimally invasive procedures on young patients. Funded by the Coldstones Charitable Trust through Hi Scotland, the facility owns the technology exclusively for paediatric healthcare. Surgeons will apply the system to treat complex cancer, abdominal, urology, thoracic, and gastrointestinal conditions. An initial phase involving over 30 operations will evaluate the platform before expanding care to more babies and children across Scotland.
Key points
Owning dedicated paediatric surgical machinery eliminates the need for children's hospita…: Owning dedicated paediatric surgical machinery eliminates the need for children's hospitals to share critical resources with adult facilities.
Utilizing advanced robotic precision during operations leads to minimized patient scarrin…: Utilizing advanced robotic precision during operations leads to minimized patient scarring, reduced post-operative pain, and faster recovery.
Successfully completing the trial phase will allow clinicians to extend cutting-edge robo…: Successfully completing the trial phase will allow clinicians to extend cutting-edge robotic treatments to children and babies throughout Scotland.
A hospital in Glasgow has become the first in the world to have a surgical robot dedicated exclusively to helping children.
The Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow is to use the Versius Plus robot for paediatric surgery, after receiving a £1.5m donation from a charitable trust.
The robot can provide greater access during keyhole surgery and will help with operations for complex cancer, urology, abdominal, thoracic and gastrointestinal conditions.
Doctors at the hospital said the robot can provide enhanced precision while reducing pain, minimising scarring, and getting patients back to their everyday lives quicker.
The Coldstones Charitable Trust pledged more than £1.5m to Hi Scotland, the innovation arm of the Glasgow Children's Hospital Charity, to fund the paediatric robotic surgery programme.
The first case of a child in the UK undergoing surgery with Versius occurred in 2024, after several surgeries with adults.
Michael Jacovides, a consultant paediatric surgeon and the clinical lead for the robotic surgery programme, said: "Robotic assisted surgery will increasingly be part of caring for children in the…
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