The collaboration started with an initial workshop and developed into a BMFTR project focusing on structured requirements engineering for Symphera’s automated instrument exchange technology.
The project addresses key challenges in surgical robotics, including high development pressure, implicit assumptions, unclear weaknesses of existing systems and the risk of misaligned product development. CEED supports the project through a phased requirements analysis, moving from hypotheses to clinically grounded development decisions. The work includes structured discussions with Symphera, rapid validation with robotic surgery experts, targeted deep-dives, clinical workshops and internal alignment sessions.
The aim is to identify real clinical problems early, reduce development and adoption risks and create a reliable basis for the next development steps. In addition, CEED contributes surveys, expert interviews, workshops on surgery, OR infrastructure and data integration, as well as data-based analyses using existing hospital data to quantify clinical and organizational requirements.
Further activities include iterative evaluations of tool-change prototypes, preparation of a test concept, support for the ethics application and the planning, execution and analysis of preclinical evaluation activities. The project supports Symphera in translating clinical, technical and health-economic requirements into structured development guidance, including documented requirement classifications, use contexts, requirement IDs and a simple traceability matrix.