# Joe Bogusky| Surgical Robots, Catheter R&D, & Seahorse Tails

- Show: [Being an Engineer](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer)
- Published: 2022-05-20
- Length: 43m
- Episode: 20
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails
- Listen: https://teampipeline.us/joe-bogusky-surgical-robots/

## Summary

Joe Bogusky, a Senior Mechanical Engineer at Intuitive Surgical, discusses his 25-year career developing minimally invasive medical devices, ranging from robotic-controlled catheters to the DaVinci surgical robot. He details the unique engineering challenges of catheter design, such as managing conflicting stiffness requirements and testing materials like PTFE in simulated body temperature environments. Bogusky also shares insights on the future of surgical robotics, emphasizing the role of AI for low-risk tasks while maintaining physician control, and advises engineers to build custom calculation tools and study biomimicry for inspiration.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=0) Introduction and Early Motivation
- [4:29](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=269) Catheter Prototyping and Material Failures
- [7:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=454) Robotic Catheter Development and Testing
- [13:26](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=806) Engineering Tools and Material Sourcing
- [17:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=1057) Intuitive Surgical and the DaVinci Robot
- [25:07](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=1507) Future of Surgical Robots and AI
- [27:34](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails#t=1654) Engineering Success Traits and Biomimicry

## Topics

- [Materials & manufacturing processes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/materials-and-processes)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)
- [AI & machine learning](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/ai-and-machine-learning)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- Intuitive Surgical (company)
- DaVinci Robot (product)
- PTFE (material)
- Zeus (company)
- Fort Wayne Plastics (company)
- Tegra (company)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Episode 162: The robot doctor will see you now - Robot Talk Live](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2026-06-26-episode-162-the-robot-doctor-will-see-you-now-robot-talk-live) (Robot Talk)
- [Episode Twenty-Five: Ferdinando Rodriguez y Baena](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2022-11-11-episode-twenty-five-ferdinando-rodriguez-y-baena) (Robot Talk)
- [406: R2D2 Is a Trash Can](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-03-17-406-r2d2-is-a-trash-can) (Embedded.fm)
- [305: Humans Have a Terrible Spec Sheet (Repeat)](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2022-04-28-305-humans-have-a-terrible-spec-sheet-repeat) (Embedded.fm)
- [The Future of Surgery: The long path to market for surgical robots with Adam Sachs from Vicarious](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-robot-report-podcast/2023-11-30-the-future-of-surgery-the-long-path-to-market-for-surgical-robots-with-adam-sach) (The Robot Report Podcast)

## Citing this page

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