Intuitive Surgical created robotic surgery as a commercial category and still defines it. Surgeons at consoles control da Vinci systems in millions of procedures a year, and every operation consumes instruments and accessories that must be replaced, making recurring revenue the majority of sales. Hospitals that train staffs and build programs around the platform rarely switch, an installed-base moat measured in thousands of systems. Founded in 1995, Intuitive expanded into lung biopsy robotics with its Ion system.