TMC PULSE

t m c » p u l s e | o c t o b e r 2 0 1 9 2 TMC | PULSE Vol. 6 No. 9 October 2019 President and Chief Executive Officer William F. McKeon Communications Director Ryan Holeywell Pulse Editor Maggie Galehouse, Ph.D. mgalehouse@tmc.edu Assistant Editor Cindy George cgeorge@tmc.edu Staff Writers Alexandra Becker Britni R. McAshan Shanley Pierce Photojournalist Cody Duty NEWSROOM 713-791-8812 news@tmc.edu ADVERTISING 713-791-8809 newsads@tmc.edu DISTRIBUTION distribution@tmc.edu READ US ONLINE tmc.edu/news FOLLOW US @TXMedCenter @texasmedcenter @thetexasmedicalcenter TMC Pulse is an award-winning monthly publication of the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Permission from the editor is required to reprint any material. President's Perspective WILLIAM F. McKEON President and Chief Executive Officer, Texas Medical Center Mark Mulligan/© Houston Chronicle. Used with permission. M y early childhood memories of robots come from dark science fiction movies, where these lifeless objects play menacing roles. But as you can see from the photo on the cover of this magazine, robots in the real world aren't scary. In fact, they'll play an increasingly significant role in advancing health care within the Texas Medical Center. Robots offer us an exciting opportunity to improve our treatment of patients and to streamline our processes. For nearly 20 years, surgical robots have assisted surgeons. A phy- sician stationed at a terminal can direct a surgical robot, sometimes known as a "telemanip- ulator," to perform work with an incredible degree of precision. Robots also allow surgical procedures to be performed remotely, when a patient requires surgical expertise that is not available locally. I am very excited to welcome ABB, the largest robotics company in the world, to the Texas Medical Center. Its mission here is to work closely with our physicians and researchers to identify and develop new, innovative applications for robots to transform health care beyond the operating room. When I arrived in Houston six years ago, I'll admit: I was dismayed at the lack of leading technology companies operating in the world's largest medical city. We had some of the most talented clinicians and researchers on the planet, but we were missing the requisite industry presence that could accelerate our discoveries into technologies that better serve patients. Today, that's all changed. We're now home to Johnson & Johnson (the largest health care company in the world), AT&T (the largest telecommunications company in the world) and now ABB (the largest robotics company in the world). Of course, this is just the beginning, as we will soon break ground on TMC 3 , our 37-acre campus designed specifically to encourage collaboration between our researchers and industry partners. Robots will undoubtedly play a vital role in supporting our researchers as they develop cutting-edge treatments that help patients overcome disease. And just as they have for gener- ations, robots will continue to push the boundaries of our imaginations.

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