STAR’s ability to work without human intervention, while limited, makes it unlike any other robotic option available to surgeons. So far, Intuitive Surgical Inc.’s da Vinci system is the only general-purpose robotic surgery platform with FDA approval. Since 2000 da Vinci has helped surgeons perform a number of laparoscopic soft-tissue procedures including hysterectomies, gall bladder and kidney removals, prostate cancer treatment and heart value operations. The key to da Vinci’s acceptance thus far has been the hands-on role the surgeon plays, controlling the robot’s four arms while sitting at an ergonomically designed console and aided by a high-definition 3-D camera. Despite its nearly $2-million price tag, da Vinci’s popularity has grown steadily. In 2012 doctors used the system to perform more than 350,000 surgeries in U.S. hospitals, a 60 percent increase from 2010 to about $6.4 billion in 2020, according to a report that Allied Market Research issued in January