Medtronic has a new chief medical officer for robotics, digital tech.

Medtronic announced that Dr. James Porter joined the company as chief medical officer of Robotic Surgical Technologies and Digital Technologies.

Porter joins the unit within the Surgical business as part of the Medical Surgical portfolio at the medtech giant. A practicing urologic surgeon, Porter boasts more than 5,000 robotic-assisted procedures under his belt. Medtronic called Porter a “recognized leader” among the global surgical community. The company said he’s one of the top five robotic surgery practitioners in the U.S.

The new CMO specializes in prostate, kidney cancer and urinary constructive procedures, according to a news release. His track record includes advancing techniques for treating kidney tumors and testicular cancer in young men. He will continue to practice surgery on a part-time basis at Providence Swedish in Seattle.

As CMO, Medtronic expects Porter to play a key role in driving focus on patients and robotic and digital innovation. His responsibilities include managing the strategic direction of clinical evidence plans, physician and society engagements.

Medtronic develops the Hugo robot-assisted surgery system. Hugo is a modular, multi-quadrant platform designed for various surgical procedures. It features wristed instruments, 3D visualization and surgical video capture options in Touch Surgery Enterprise. Medtronic first unveiled Hugo in September 2019,

The company continues to build on the Hugo platform, adding more clinical studies earlier this year to expand its indications to hernia and gynecology.

Commentary from Porter and Medtronic officials
On his appointment, Porter said: “I went into medicine because I want to help people and I am absolutely thrilled to now expand the impact on patients to a global scale with Medtronic, a company that I have always admired. Tens of millions of patients around the world still lack access to minimally invasive surgical care and I’m excited about our opportunity at Medtronic to make a big impact for humanity. Surgery is fast evolving, due in large part to robotic and digital technologies, and Hugo and Touch Surgery are leading the way.”

Rajit Kamal, GM and VP of Robotic Surgical Technologies at Medtronic, added: “Medtronic is privileged to welcome such a renowned physician to our business, and we look forward to Dr. Porter’s contributions as CMO of our robotic and digital divisions as we execute our strategy to scale and continually advance our capabilities to meet customer needs and positively impact patients around the world.”