1235 ET - Sovato's new CEO Brian Miller says the field of remote surgery is at a critical point, on its way toward becoming a more commonplace fixture in hospitals amid the rise of both robotic-assisted procedures and artificial intelligence. "It's hard to put a timeline on it, but progress is being made. The need is there," he tells WSJ. "We'll start to see progress within this decade for sure." There are some regulatory hurdles remaining, he says, though there have been some remote procedures in China and India. "It's not something that hasn't been done," he says. "The technology is there. The need is there, and now it's just bringing it to the market in a really thoughtful way." (kelly.cloonan@wsj.com)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

April 07, 2026 12:35 ET (16:35 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2026 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.