Company: ISRG
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form Type: 10-Q
Source: 0001035267-25-000109
Chunk: 92

Company: INTUITIVE SURGICAL INC
Filing Date: 2025-04-23
Form: 10-Q
Item: Item 2
Chunk 92
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 validating the clinical and economic value of da Vinci procedures as well as increased surgeon training. In South Korea, the doctor strikes that began in the first quarter of 2024 continued; however, we saw a recovery in the number of procedures performed in the first quarter of 2025, and the growth rate in South Korea modestly exceeded the overall OUS procedure growth rate. The sustainability of this recovery and the extent of the continued impact of these strikes on procedures in South Korea remains uncertain.

Ion Procedures

Overall. Total Ion procedures performed by our customers grew approximately 58% for the three months ended March 31, 2025, compared to approximately 90% for the three months ended March 31, 2024. The first quarter 2025 procedure growth was largely attributable to a larger installed base of Ion systems and the conversion of other lung biopsy modalities.

System Demand

We placed 367 da Vinci surgical systems in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 313 systems in the first quarter of 2024. The increase in system placements reflects continued demand for additional capacity by our customers as a result of procedure growth as well as demand for our next-generation da Vinci 5 system, including the impact from customers beginning to trade in fourth-generation da Vinci systems. During the first quarter of 2025, we placed 147 da Vinci 5 systems, compared to 8 systems in the first quarter of 2024.

We placed 49 Ion systems in the first quarter of 2025, compared to 70 systems in the first quarter of 2024. In the U.S., where we estimate that penetration of lung biopsy is approaching the halfway point, our customers’ focus has begun to shift from increasing capacity to increasing utilization of their existing systems.

We continue to see some customers challenged by staffing shortages, decreased government funding in healthcare (particularly in Europe), and other financial pressures. As a result, we expect our customers to continue to be cautious in their overall capital spending. In addition, system demand in China has been adversely impacted by increasing robotic-assisted surgical system competition from domestic companies and, to a lesser extent, a broader central government focus on systematic governance. Currently, the extent and impact of the competitive dynamics and this campaign in China on our business remains uncertain.

We expect that future placements of da Vinci surgical systems will be impacted by a number of factors: supply chain risks; economic and geopolitical factors; inflationary pressures; high interest rates; hospital staffing shortages; procedure growth rates; evolving system utilization and point