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Abu Dhabi Hospital To Use Cutting-Edge Robot For Complex Surgeries
The device, named da Vinci Xi, will help surgeons perform difficult minimally invasive procedures with unparalleled precision.
An Abu Dhabi-based healthcare facility has introduced a state-of-the-art robot named da Vinci Xi. The high-tech device will enable Burjeel Medical City’s doctors to carry out complex, minimally invasive surgeries with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency.
Named after Renaissance figure Leonardo da Vinci, the robotic surgical system offers numerous advantages over its human counterparts, including increased precision and enhanced visualization, leading to shorter patient recovery times.
Dr. Jafaru Abu, director of robotic surgery at the hospital, noted the advantages: “With this robotic technology, we can perform complex and minimally invasive surgical procedures with extreme dexterity [enabling] our highly skilled surgeons to provide even better patient clinical outcomes [while] reducing trauma and recovery times”.
Equipped with immersive 3D high-definition visualization technology, da Vinci Xi gives surgeons a highly detailed, magnified view of the surgical area. This enhanced clarity allows for high precision during procedures, potentially reducing complications and ensuring optimal outcomes.
At its core, da Vinci Xi uses robotic hands that mimic the motion of the surgeon controlling them from its console. The robot arms give enhanced agility and delicacy and allow for maneuvers that would be impossible using traditional “straight-stick” laparoscopic surgical instruments.
“Introducing the da Vinci Xi robotic system underscores our commitment to constantly evolving and adopting the latest medical technologies. With the integration of this new technology, we aim to reinforce our position as a leading healthcare institution at the forefront of medical innovation, providing patients with access to world-class, minimally invasive surgical procedures,” explained John Sunil, CEO of Burjeel Holdings.
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With the introduction of the new da Vinci robotic system, Burjeel Medical City can offer patients a wide range of minimally invasive surgeries, covering urology, gynecology, colorectal, upper gastrointestinal, thoracic, bariatric, hepatobiliary, and more.
News
Microsoft Plans $10 Billion-Plus Gulf Expansion Despite Iran Conflict
Security is shaping Microsoft’s approach, from resilience work with governments to what it will say about how the money splits by country.
Microsoft is planning more than $10 billion of investment across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait through 2030, Vice Chair and President Brad Smith told Reuters, calling the spending schedule aggressive. The Iranian conflict that began on February 28 has not persuaded the company to scale back.
“We’re sustaining all the investments we planned to make before this conflict started, and we are in fact adding to them,” Smith said. The $10 billion-plus total does not, however, show how large those additions are.
The investment, which Smith described as part of Microsoft’s continued infrastructure expansion, is aimed at cloud and AI infrastructure and at the company’s growing regional operations. Microsoft also intends to put more than $400 million into subsea and terrestrial connectivity across the Middle East by 2030.
The spending fits the region’s own ambitions too. Gulf governments have been investing heavily in AI infrastructure as part of a push to diversify their economies beyond oil and gas and turn themselves into global technology hubs. Major cloud and AI providers have been drawn in part by the land and relatively low-cost energy on offer.
Microsoft is widening its partnerships with regional AI companies, though not on identical terms. In 2024, it invested $1.5 billion in Abu Dhabi-based G42 for a minority stake, and Smith currently sits on G42’s board. Saudi Arabia’s Humain and Qatar’s Qai are working with Microsoft on selected priority areas, but Smith said the company does not plan to make capital investments in either.
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The conflict has added another strand to Microsoft’s work in the region. Since it began, Smith said, the company has supported regional partners with digital resilience assessments, and it is now working with Gulf countries through a digital resilience initiative focused on preparedness and the protection of critical data.
So far, the company has given no country-by-country breakdown of the investment, citing security among other factors. So while the headline figure is public, how Microsoft divides the spending among the four countries is not.
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