Overview

Greeting

Robot-Assisted Cardiac Surgery Council
Representative Director: Akira Shiose

The Robot-Assisted Cardiac Surgery Council was established in cooperation with The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery, The Japanese Society for Cardiovascular Surgery, and the Japan Society for Robotic Surgery. Its purpose is to certify facilities and surgeons, and to provide education and ensure safety in collaboration with these societies.

Following domestic clinical trials and reviews, the da Vinci S and Si systems received pharmaceutical approval in December 2015, and the da Vinci Xi in March 2016, allowing the use of the da Vinci robot for cardiac surgery in Japan. The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency (PMDA) required: (1) registration of all cases in the NCD as post-market surveillance, and (2) establishment of a council with related societies to ensure safe robot-assisted cardiac surgery.

Initially, only self-pay treatments were available. However, in April 2018, the use of endoscopic support devices (robots) for thoracoscopic valvuloplasty (procedure code K544-2) was approved for insurance coverage, accelerating the spread of robot-assisted cardiac surgery in Japan.
As a representative of the Clinical Affairs Committee of The Japanese Association for Thoracic Surgery, I was involved in the insurance coverage of robot-assisted valve replacement surgery (single valve and double valve) in the fiscal year 2024 revision.

Since the council's establishment, Dr. Soichiro Kitamura served as the first chairperson, followed by Dr. Toshihiko Shibata as the second chairperson. As of April 1, 2025, I, Akira Shiose (Professor of Cardiovascular Surgery, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University), have assumed the position of Representative Director of the council.

We will continue our activities to promote robot-assisted cardiac surgery as a safe and highly precise surgical method. We are also committed to working with related societies to expand insurance coverage for robot-assisted cardiac surgery.

Articles of Association

Organization and Member List