Master's students in "Medical Physics: Imaging and Therapy" from the University of Greifswald recently got a firsthand experience with the da Vinci surgical robot at the University Medical Center Greifswald—complete with scrub suits and access to the facility's most cutting-edge technology.
On June 23, 2026, a group of students visited the University Medical Center Greifswald as part of their curriculum. Dressed in surgical scrubs, they had the opportunity to operate the da Vinci robot themselves and explore the sophisticated technology powering the system.
The da Vinci is a robot-assisted surgical system: the surgeon sits at a control console, viewing the surgical field in a magnified 3D image, and controls the system's robotic arms and microsurgical instruments in real time. The system filters out tremors and translates the surgeon's hand movements with extreme precision into the operating field, enabling minimally invasive and gentle procedures even in confined areas of the body.
The University Medical Center Greifswald has been performing robot-assisted surgeries since late 2022. The Center for Robotic Surgery currently operates two systems: the da Vinci Xi and the da Vinci SP, the latter of which allows for surgery through a single access point. Since the program's launch, over 1,000 procedures have been performed using the da Vinci system, spanning visceral surgery, urology, ENT, gynecology, and thoracic surgery.
This insight into robot-assisted surgery highlights the practical orientation of the Master's program: beyond physics and mathematics, students engage deeply with medical technology and advanced imaging.