Medtronic’s ‘Hugo’ Surgical Robot Receives FDA Clearance for Urological Procedures

An arm wrestling match is underway in surgical robotics. Medical device tech company Medtronic has just secured FDA clearance for its robotics-assisted surgery system, Hugo, for use in urological procedures. 

The approval places Medtronic in direct competition with industry stalwart Intuitive Surgical, whose da Vinci robotic surgical system revolutionized the field of medical robotics in 2000. Hugo was first unveiled in 2019 as a more cost-effective and flexible answer to da Vinci and has since been used in more than 30 countries for tens of thousands of gynecological, urological, and general surgeries. 

“This is an incredibly exciting day for healthcare in the United States,” said Rajit Kamal, VP and GM of Robotic Surgical Technologies, Medtronic, in a statement. “FDA clearance of the Hugo RAS system means there is now choice for hospitals looking to expand their robotic programs and increases access for patients.”

The Hugo robotics-assisted system, which doctors control via handheld controllers, uses a modular architecture built around independent robotic arms that can be repositioned and shared across care settings. The design allows surgeons to tailor arm placement to patient anatomy and supports a more adaptable operating room layout, making it flexible without the need for major infrastructure changes. 

What it took for Hugo to reach American operating rooms

The path to FDA approval hasn’t been easy for Medtronic.

Hugo’s introduction in 2019 began a multiyear development cycle that moved much more slowly than the company anticipated. Early global rollout efforts were plagued by logistical and manufacturing pressures that delayed installation timelines and limited how quickly hospitals could integrate the systems into their operating rooms. 

In the face of these headwinds, the company focused on developing its international market segment by accumulating real-world use cases across five continents while refining its training processes and system reliability. 

“From a timeline perspective, while everyone would always love to move faster, these are complex technologies,” said Medtronic’s EVP Mike Marinaro to The Minnesota Star Tribune months before the FDA approval. “And to get it right, it does take some time, and that’s what we’re doing.”

To gain a foothold in the US, Medtronic built a dedicated clinical program to demonstrate safety and reproducibility in urological procedures —  a regulatory requirement for soft-tissue robotic surgery. The study, which enrolled 137 patients across multiple US centers, provided the data that led to Hugo’s FDA approval and its new status as a major competitor to da Vinci. 

A new era of competition in robotic surgery

Intuitive Surgical has shaped the US market for soft-tissue robotics for the past 25 years. Now, Medtronic’s clearance marks the first real competition it has had since the launch of its da Vinci systems.

With hospitals now having a choice, the goalposts shift from hardware development to better-designed infrastructure that supports the everyday use of surgical robotics. That includes how each system handles visualization in the consoles, how smoothly instruments and workflows fit into existing OR ecosystems, and how well surgeons can move from training to full cases with minimal disruption. 

Opening the aperture wider, Medtronic and Intuitive Surgical’s robotic surgery systems are also now on a collision course with AI. Though both systems are exclusively guided by analog and human input, the broader conversation around surgical robotics is inspiring tech leaders to promote AI as the next evolutionary step in procedural consistency and support. 

Hugo’s link to Medtronic’s Touch Surgery platform brings that company into that discussion without moving the system into any form of  AI-driven operation. The platform records cases, organizes procedural video, and supports structured review, giving surgeons a digital environment that could evolve as regulators set clearer boundaries for AI in clinical settings. 

Intuitive has its own data infrastructure, often focusing on predictive analytics for maintenance and planning, and both companies are now building pipelines that could accommodate AI-supported tools once the technology matures and clears regulatory hurdles. 

For now, the contest remains rooted in the mechanics of urologic surgery, but the next phase will be defined by how each company integrates software that supports surgeons without crossing into automated decision-making.

Curious where wearable AI meets human-like movement? Check out “7 Humanoid Robots Redefining How You Work and Live” — a vivid look at the most advanced bots transforming factories, homes, and workplaces today.
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