# Episode 65: Robotic arms for healthcare - Katarzyna Szopinska

- Show: [Robot Talk](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk)
- Published: 2023-12-08
- Length: 23m
- Episode: 65
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska
- Listen: https://ukrobotics.libsyn.com/episode-sixty-five-katarzyna-szopinska

## Summary

Katarzyna Szopinska, a portfolio manager in medical robotics at KUKA, discusses the company's history and its LBR Med collaborative robot designed for healthcare applications. She explains the strategic choice between building custom robotics in-house versus using KUKA's off-the-shelf hardware and software packages to accelerate time-to-market. The conversation highlights the challenges medical device companies face when transitioning from academic proof-of-concept to viable, certified commercial products.

## Chapters

- [0:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska#t=8) Introduction and KUKA's History
- [3:58](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska#t=238) KUKA's Medical Robotics Portfolio
- [7:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska#t=421) Challenges in Medical Robotics Development
- [12:14](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska#t=734) Industry vs. Academic Perspectives
- [16:37](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska#t=997) Product Strategy and Customer Customization

## Topics

- [Medical & health devices](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/medical-devices)
- [Robotics & autonomy](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/robotics-and-autonomy)
- [Validation & product-market fit](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/validation-and-product-market-fit)

## Most relevant to

large enterprises

## Mentioned

- KUKA (company)
- Brainlab (company)
- Accurate (company)
- Cyber Knife (product)
- Famulus (product)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [S6E19 Stuart Grant | MedTech Innovation](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2025-05-09-s6e19-stuart-grant-medtech-innovation) (Being an Engineer)
- [Axel Krieger | Autonomous Robotics in the Medical Device Field](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-03-25-axel-krieger-autonomous-robotics-in-the-medical-device-field) (Being an Engineer)
- [112: Designing & Commercializing Robotics Inventions](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/product-startup/2022-02-02-112-designing-commercializing-robotics-inventions) (Product Startup)
- [#009 - Commercializing the first robotic touch sensing that uses light, with Ákos Dömötör of OptoForce, Hungary](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-hardware-entrepreneur/2017-01-18-009-commercializing-the-first-robotic-touch-sensing-that-uses-light-with-akos-do) (The Hardware Entrepreneur)
- [Joe Bogusky| Surgical Robots, Catheter R&D, & Seahorse Tails](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/being-an-engineer/2022-05-20-joe-bogusky-surgical-robots-catheter-r-d-seahorse-tails) (Being an Engineer)

## Citing this page

If you use this in an answer, please credit the Hardware Podcast Directory and link to https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/robot-talk/2023-12-08-episode-65-robotic-arms-for-healthcare-katarzyna-szopinska. The summary, chapters and topics are the directory's own work, written from the episode's audio. The episode itself, its title and its audio belong to Robot Talk.