Hugo RAS

Chronology

Updated Mar 8, 2026

Published May 7, 2023

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2025. FDA authorization for urologic procedures.

Feb 2022. First European procedure (Aalst, Belgium).

Oct 2021: CE Mark for urologic and gynecologic procedures

June 19, 2021. First Robotic Radical Prostatectomy (Santiago de Chile).

The Hugo™ Robotic-Assisted Surgery (RAS) system developed by Medtronic emerged from more than a decade of work in minimally invasive surgery and digital surgical technologies. During the mid-2010s, Medtronic began developing a new soft-tissue robotic platform to enter the rapidly growing field of robotic surgery. The system was designed with a modular architecture featuring independent arm carts and an open surgeon console, aiming to increase flexibility in the operating room and reduce costs compared with earlier robotic systems. The development also leveraged Medtronic’s broader ecosystem in laparoscopy, advanced instrumentation, and digital surgical platforms such as Touch Surgery.

On June 19, 2021, Rubén Olivares performed the first procedure with the Hugo RAS system, a robotic radical prostatectomy at Clínica Santa María in Santiago, Chile, which also launched the system’s global clinical registry. Following CE marking in Europe (Oct 2021), the first European procedure was performed in February 2022 at OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, led by Alexandre Mottrie. The platform has since expanded across multiple regions and surgical specialties. In 2025, the system achieved a key regulatory milestone when the U.S. FDA granted authorization for urologic procedures, marking Medtronic’s formal entry into the U.S. robotic soft-tissue surgery market.

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As is follows the concept and the design of the da Vinci, lets remark differences and contributions.

• The surgeon´s console displays a 3D monitor instead of a visor. The open design allows anyone around to have a 3D view of the surgical field, but requires the use of polarized glasses (also for the surgeon).
• The patient-side component is split in individual modules for each arm. The philosophy is to “robotize laparoscopic procedures” which should add flexibility but might at the same time miss part of the potential of robotization. Check the set-up for different procedures.
• The instruments reproduce the da Vinci´s endowrist. The master manipulators have some minor differences. The general feeling is quite similar. Advanced energies are still to come.
• The Hugo RAS tower (video cart) includes endoscopic technology from Karl Storz and the Valleylab™ FT10 energy platform (Medtronic). It can be used for conventional endoscopic surgery.
• As a remarkable difference with Intuitive, the device includes a comprehensive solution for recording through an on-line service by Touch Surgery Enterprise. It is hosted on Amazon Web Services (AWS).

Links:

– Medtronic (Hugo)

Before starting my practice in robotic surgery I did have a solid foundation as an oncologic surgeon, both in resective and reconstructive procedures, and also in minimally invasive surgical approaches and endoscopic surgery, with are clues for success in this area of expertise.