I had to sell everything, even furniture, to fund the development of our robot

INTERVIEW Dr Sudhir Prem Srivastava, founder-chairman and CEO of SS Innovations

- Puja Awasthi

Dr Sudhir Prem Srivastava got his medical degree from J.L.N. Medical College in Ajmer before completing his residency in cardiothoracic surgery at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. In 2003, with 10 physicians, he founded Alliance Hospital, a center of excellence in cardiovascular disease in West Texas. While there, he performed the world’s first single-vessel TECAB (totally endoscopic coronary artery bypass) on a beating heart. After returning to India, he has introduced a made-in-India brand of medical robotics surgery equipment. In an interview, he speaks about the development of the indigenous system.

What was the market analysis that went into understanding and defining the product?

Since the time the world was introduced to robotic surgeries, they have been considered only for the elite class because of the high cost of procurement of a surgical robotic system by a hospital. This explains the low penetration levels in India.