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Carolina alumnus brings the future of medicine into operating rooms

Todd Pope earned a spot in Time Magazine’s list of the 50 most influential people in health care earlier this year with his new surgical robot that is shaking up the field of robotic medicine.

Todd Pope stands near his robotic surgical machine.

If you want to discover the future of medicine, you don’t have to look any further than Carolina’s backyard, where one UNC-Chapel Hill alumnus is working to revolutionize the field of robotic surgery.

For decades, robot-assisted surgery has allowed surgeons to control mechanical arms inside a patient’s body through tiny incisions. A new system, called Senhance, created by Todd Pope’s medical robotics company, TransEnterix, offers surgeons new high-tech tools such as eye-tracking cameras, 3D vision and a sense of touch and feel when working with the robotic arms.

“There are certain things surgeons have been wanting to see in a robot that just didn’t exist,” said Pope, a 1987 Carolina graduate. “They wanted to have a sense of feel for increased safety, control of their vision, better access. So, we now offer that with Senhance. Our robot gives surgeons a very immersive environment, almost as if they’re inside the abdomen of the patient.”

The system earned Pope a spot on Time Magazine’s list of the 50 most influential people in health care earlier this year, alongside Bill and Melinda Gates.

More than three decades before re-envisioning robot surgery, Pope arrived in Chapel Hill with plans to attend medical school after earning his bachelor’s degree at Carolina. He also had his mind set on another passion — playing basketball for the Tar Heels.

Pope walked onto the JV basketball team, which Roy Williams coached at the time. His JV basketball career, which happened to line up with the Michael Jordan-era of Carolina basketball, remains a highlight of his college experience.

“It was a really magical time to be there,” Pope said.

In the classroom, Pope was shifting his professional plans. Studying industrial relations, which combined business and economics courses, he saw how he could make an immediate impact on health care as a businessman instead of attending medical school. After graduation, Pope went to work in the health care industry and began working with cutting-edge medical devices.

His 30-year career in the field carried him around the country but brought him back to North Carolina to launch TransEnterix.

“Everyone told me, ‘If you build a big company, you’ll need to be in Silicon Valley or Boston,’ and I said, ‘No. This is the best place to live in America.’ I think we have an incredible amount of talent here,” Pope said. “We employ a lot of people here locally. I think it’s an important way to give back to the economy and keep my ties to UNC close.”

In part, Pope credits Carolina’s entrepreneurial culture, international network and willingness to forge ahead in the face of challenges for his success.

“When the stakes are high and there’s so many hurdles to get there, most people decide not to push the boundaries, because it seems so daunting,” he said. “When you’re starting that journey, I think people just think, ‘surely there’s an easier way,’ and they don’t take on these big, audacious goals. We can do it. We just have to be bold enough to try.”

Even as he works to reshape health care, Pope continues to be an active member of the Carolina community as the parent of Tar Heels and the chair of the board of director for the Ram’s Club.

“I love UNC,” he said. “My wife went to UNC, my son graduated from UNC and I have two girls at UNC right now. There’s no question where the Pope allegiance lies.”