ELIZABETH CITY, N.C. (WAVY) — The surgery team at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, is welcoming a robotic da Vinci Surgical System to perform gynecological and general surgery cases. After a naming contest by the surrounding public schools, “Leo” was the winning name.
The name was proposed by Northeastern High School senior Joel Overman.
“This machine can be intimidating for patients,” Overman said. “So, a name with the simplicity of Leo gives a calming factor, and gives respect to Leonardo da Vinci, from where the surgical system is branded.”
The device uses tools that can be more precise than a surgeon and is manually operated.
The surgeon uses a console near the operating table and looks through a viewer that magnifies the surgical site by 10 times what the human eye can see, according to a news release. The robotic arms move according to the surgeon’s prompts.
Three surgeons are currently training on the da Vinci system. The precision tools can perform finer movements than a surgeon’s fingers, and the technology eliminates natural tremors in a human hand.
