Intuitive Surgical and the da Vinci Surgical System
A discovered opportunity created by shifts in technology, demand and regulation.
- Sector
- Medical technology
- Source
- Week 2 tutorial mini-case
The case in brief
Intuitive Surgical was a young US start-up founded in 1995. In 2000 it launched the da Vinci Surgical System, a robotic system with tremor-filtration technology. In July 2000 the US Food and Drug Administration cleared it for marketing for laparoscopic gall bladder and reflux disease surgery.
Tutorial 2 uses it as the example of a discovered opportunity: outside changes made robotic surgery possible and wanted before the firm exploited it.
Key facts
- Founded
- 1995
- Product
- da Vinci Surgical System, launched 2000, with tremor-filtration technology
- FDA clearance
- July 2000, for laparoscopic gall bladder and reflux disease surgery
Analysis through module theory
Discovery theory (Zucchella, Hagen and Serapio, 2018)
Three exogenous shifts created the opportunity: advances in robotic and telemedicine technologies; a shortage of surgeons in the US together with competition among hospitals to use high-tech equipment; and a regulatory environment in which the FDA became more supportive of robotic surgical systems. The firm’s advantage was alertness and the capability to exploit the gap.
Discussion questions
- 1.Which PESTEL dimensions do the three factors fall under?
- 2.Would you classify the da Vinci system as incremental or radical innovation? Why?
Takeaways
- Discovered opportunities can be traced to specific outside shifts in technology, demand or regulation.