Bangkok Hospital Headquarters is strengthening the expertise of its surgical teams to provide better robot-assisted surgery for patients, part of its efforts to become an Asia-Pacific medical robot hub.
"We emphasise medical technology alongside the development of healthcare professionals," said Dr Ekkit Surakarn, deputy director of Bangkok Hospital.
Dr Ekkit was speaking during the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Bangkok Hospital Headquarters and Device Technologies (Thailand), a medical technology and supply company. The one-year MoU aims to establish a learning system for robotic surgery, enabling patients to receive treatment that is more effective and safer.
The cooperation builds on specialists' experience at the hospital in more than 1,000 cases performed using the da Vinci Xi Robotic Surgery System, designed to perform minimally invasive surgeries.
Surgeons are not required to operate on patients directly by hand. They sit at a nearby computer console and use hand/foot controls to translate their exact movements into micro-movements made by robotic arms over the patient.
Over the past three years, Bangkok Hospital Headquarters has performed 547 abdominal surgeries, 237 lung surgeries, 131 gynecological surgeries and 92 urological surgeries involving the kidneys and prostate, according to the hospital's data as of June 2026.
The technology enables precise procedures, reduces blood loss and tissue trauma, and lowers the risk of complication and infection, resulting in faster recovery, shorter hospital stays and a quicker return to daily life, said Chanin Pundee, director of the Surgery Center at Bangkok Hospital and a specialist in minimally invasive and robotic abdominal surgery.
"The technology alone is insufficient to advance patient care," said Adam Brown, business manager of capital robotic surgery at Device Technologies. "Equally important is the continuous development of healthcare professionals, the establishment of standardised learning systems, and the exchange of knowledge among experts."
Under the MoU, the parties are to cooperate on establishing a robotic training centre in the hospital, developing the skills of surgeons and specialists through training programmes, international and in-house proctorship programmes, and enhancing infrastructure and surgical simulation systems.
