On Tuesday, November 25, 2025, Eurobiomed, the CHU de Nîmes, Med Robotics Place and Nîmes Métropole, with the support of the Occitanie Region, organized an immersive "Innovating with medical robotics: opportunities for our territory" day in Nîmes. Hospital, industrial and institutional players presented a contrasting picture of medical robotics in France. Although the Nîmes University Hospital has demonstrated the economic and clinical effectiveness of this technology, with 5,000 patients operated on by robot, and savings of up to €8,000 per operation for the French health insurance system, medical and economic obstacles continue to slow down the deployment of this technology throughout France. The conference also highlighted the successes of the Occitan ecosystem, notably that of Quantum Surgical, whose robots treated their 1000th patient in 2025.
Nîmes University Hospital has made a name for itself in the field of medical robotics. " We carry out 600 to 700 surgical procedures a year using robots ," says Frédéric Rimattei, the hospital's general manager. In 2025, the facility reached a symbolic milestone. " We reached the 5000th patient operated on with a robot ", announced Professor Stéphane Droupy, head of the urology department at the CHU de Nîmes, one of the pioneers in the deployment of surgical robotics in clinical practice. This sustained activity bears witness to the successful integration of robotics into surgical practices at the Nîmes facility.
"For the establishment, a robotic surgery procedure means an extra 3,700 euros, but..."
The economic analysis presented by Stéphane Droupy illustrates the medico-economic paradox of robotic surgery. While the procedure does cost the hospital an extra 3,700 euros, it generates substantial savings for the Assurance Maladie. " A patient undergoing robotic surgery costs 22,000 euros, compared with 30,000 euros for open surgery ", he explained, representing a saving of 8,000 euros thanks to shorter hospital stays and fewer post-operative complications. The surgeon also pointed out that the acquisition of a second robot can prove profitable for the facility: " The facility doesn't lose money with a second robot, it makes more by being able to perform more complex and costly procedures."
Despite this proven cost-effectiveness, territorial inequalities persist. Jean-Claude Couffinhal, Chairman of the Innovation Commission at the French National Academy of Surgery, warned of disparities in access to medical robotics in France. " We have a residual surgery rate of 40% in France, and we're plateauing," he stressed. The situation is all the more worrying in that " two regions remain without robots ", widening the gaps between territories.
Medical robotics are not confined to the operating theatre
Medical and economic obstacles are holding back innovation. Stéphane Droupy illustrated this observation with the example of Aquabeam. " We wanted to integrate it into the CHU, but we were refused reimbursement, even though it is reimbursed in the United States, Spain and Germany ", he lamented. This device, developed by an American company, " fell through " in France. For the surgeon, the diagnosis is clear: " The problem with medical robotics is the medico-economic aspects."
Medical robotics are not confined to the operating theatre. Nîmes University Hospital robotized its pharmacy back in 2011. Jean-Marie Kinowski presented current developments, such as the ASSA system - Armoires de Service Sécurisées Automatisées - " capable of automatically creating pill boxes ". The stakes are high in terms of care safety: " Medication errors are the second leading cause of undesirable events. Robotization provides standardization and complete traceability of the circuit.
"Actually, they're not robots, they're cobots".
However, the term "robot" needs to be qualified. Julien Frandon, head of interventional imaging organization at Nîmes University Hospital, has developed a grid to assess the autonomy of interventional imaging devices. " Nous avons développé une échelle du robot pour évaluer l’automatisme et au maximum, nous sommes à 4 sur 10 », a-t-il précisé. La conclusion s’impose : « In fact, they're not robots, they're cobots. », des assistants collaboratifs nécessitant encore une intervention humaine importante.
The future of medical robotics lies in the exploitation of the data generated. Julien Frandon explained the emergence of new business models: " This new robot is sold to us at a lower price in exchange for our usage data, without of course touching patient data. " This strategy enables manufacturers to improve their devices: " Thanks to this, manufacturers will improve the assistance provided by the robot by training its algorithms with automatically retrieved data. " Arnaud Tellier, VP Product Strategy at AcuSurgical, added: " The real benefit of robotics is the digital part, learning from what we do in post-op. "
The integration of robotics also raises organizational and human issues. Arnaud Plard, health executive at CHU de Nîmes, emphasized the collective dimension of the project: " It has to be a cohesive factor, not a divisive one". Planning is a major challenge: "We also need to adapt operating schedules, because scheduling a patient for robotic surgery has to be planned well in advance." Mélodie Martinez, a nurse at Nîmes University Hospital, spoke of the impact on professional practices: " Robotics has changed the nursing profession, with new people in the room and more equipment. "
1,000th patient treated by the Epione robot in 2025
L’écosystème occitan compte un fer de lance industriel : Quantum Surgical. Bertin Nahum, son CEO et co-fondateur, a annoncé des résultats impressionnants pour cette société montpelliéraine. « In 2025, we treated the 1,000th patient with the Epione robot, with some twenty robots installed. "he declared. The company quickly obtained major regulatory approvals in Europe, the United States and China, and was able to evangelize robotics in a new field for this technology: oncology and soft tissue. Its development is accompanied by a strong local presence: " Nous comptons 145 employés, dont 125 à Montpellier et 20 à Miami. »
Quantum Surgical also stands out for its rapid and singular development, following the example of this summer's acquisition of Neuwave, a leading American company in the production of microwave needles. "Apart from Intuitive Surgical, it's in hard tissue that we've seen the democratization of robotics, with most companies specializing in implants acquiring robotics companies," explains Bertin Nahum. "They've set up a business model similar to that of printers, linked to the number of consumables we sell. With the acquisition of Neuwave, we control the complete chain, the robot and its consumables, the needles."
France 2030 supports breakthrough innovation in medical robotics
The France 2030 national strategy intends to support this dynamic. Camille Tuvi, head of the "Surgical Robotics / Augmented Operating Room" Grand Challenges at the Direction Générale des Entreprises, announced that " a Call for Proposals currently being finalized will be there to support disruptive innovations in implantable medical devices and surgical robotics." The objective is ambitious: to promote the development of new-generation surgical robots. The resources mobilized are aimed at " reducing time-to-market, strengthening partnership research and enabling access to homogeneous data."
This innovation day, organized by Eurobiomed, the CHU de Nîmes, Robotics Place and Nîmes Métropole, and supported by the Occitanie Region, demonstrated the vitality of the healthcare innovation ecosystem in the south of France. Eurobiomed, which brings together the healthcare innovation community of the Sud - Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur and Occitanie regions, is pursuing its objective of helping global champions like Quantum Surgical to emerge. " This conference provided an essential forum for dialogue between hospital, industrial and institutional players, with the aim of identifying and removing the medical and economic obstacles to the deployment of medical robotics in France ," explained Emmanuel Le Bouder, Eurobiomed's Community Director.
" One of the challenges of medical robotics is to ensure that it is well received in our establishments," concludes Frédéric Rimattei. " To achieve this, it is essential to share the necessarily very different experiences of each of our professionals, including failures, which are always highly instructive. In the case of medical robotics, as in others, money is of course an essential issue, but the most important thing is innovation management .
