Founder Story: R2 Surgical by Tom Shrader

Today, we're thrilled to acquaint you with an innovative startup: R2 Surgical. They have quickly established themselves as a leading global supplier of pre-owned surgical robots, instruments, parts, accessories, and disposables.

Founded by Tom Shrader, a graduate of Eastern Michigan University with a degree in International Business, R2 Surgical began with a visionary move in 2019 when Tom acquired and successfully flipped a da Vinci Si robot, produced by Intuitive Surgical.

R2 Surgical's mission is to democratize access to advanced surgical robotics, making these essential, life-saving technologies affordable for hospitals across the globe. They ensure that surgical robots find their way to facilities where they are needed most, enhancing patient care and surgical outcomes.

Stay with us as we explore how R2 Surgical is transforming the healthcare landscape by providing cost-effective solutions in the rapidly evolving field of surgical technology.

I’m Tom Shrader, Founder & President of R2 Surgical, a startup that has quickly become a premier global supplier of pre-owned surgical robots, instruments, parts, accessories, and disposables. After graduating from Eastern Michigan University in International Business and beginning a career in reselling radiological imaging equipment, I spotted the potential in pre-owned surgical robots.

In 2019, I acquired and flipped a da Vinci Si robot (manufactured by Intuitive Surgical), setting the stage for what R2 Surgical would become: a company that aims to democratize access to advanced surgical robotics, ensuring hospitals worldwide can afford these rapidly evolving and life-saving technologies.

R2 Surgical is an innovative startup that has quickly become a leading global supplier of pre-owned surgical robots, instruments, parts, and accessories. Founded by Tom Shrader after a pivotal venture in reselling a da Vinci Si robot in 2019, the company aims to democratize access to advanced surgical robotics, making these life-saving technologies affordable and accessible to hospitals worldwide.

R2 Surgical addresses crucial issues in the healthcare industry by expanding access to robotic surgery and reducing the environmental impact of medical equipment. Their model not only ensures that high-quality surgical robots find new homes in facilities that need them most but also significantly decreases medical waste and the carbon footprint associated with manufacturing new equipment.

The startup gained momentum by tapping into the secondary market for surgical robots as facilities upgrade their equipment. R2 Surgical’s approach has not only filled a gap in the healthcare technology market but has also established new standards for sustainability and accessibility in medical practices. As they look to the future, R2 Surgical continues to innovate and expand its impact, ensuring that more healthcare providers can offer state-of-the-art surgical care.

R2 Surgical solves two critical problems in the surgical robotics industry: 1) extremely limited access of advanced surgical technologies to hospitals and surgical departments globally 2) the medical waste and carbon footprint of the healthcare equipment industry.

Surgeries performed with surgical robots are shown to improve patient outcomes by reducing blood loss, lowering risk of infection, shortening recovery time, and more.

However, purchasing a brand new surgical robot and getting the required access to training and ongoing support can be unattainable for many healthcare institutions. Because we refurbish and resell pre-owned surgical robots, we are able to expand access to these incredible technologies worldwide.

Our mission is to fill a large gap in the current healthcare technology market by helping ensure advanced surgical technology is affordable for hospitals everywhere. Before R2 Surgical, excess and secondary surgical robots lived in landfills or storage warehouses.

Now, we make sure that they instead find new homes where so many more people will be able to benefit from them. This isn’t only important for improving access and healthcare, but also for environmental sustainability. We’re able to significantly reduce medical waste and the carbon footprint of producing new surgical robots, instruments, parts, and accessories.

My journey in the medical equipment sector began at Medical Imaging Resources in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I started to learn more about the surgical robotics industry and immediately saw that soon there would be a huge opening for reselling pre-owned surgical robots.

The pivotal move was purchasing and then reselling our first da Vinci Si robot. We simply never stopped and our momentum as premier global suppliers of surgical robots, instruments, parts, and accessories to the secondary market continues to grow.

Now that the FDA just officially announced clearance for Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci 5 fifth-generation multiport robotic system, the opening to acquire pre-owned surgical robots is going to open up exponentially as facilities upgrade from the 4th generation da Vinci Xi. We plan to continue our work of purchasing and reselling surgical robots and all of their associated equipment as well as continue to work closely with organizations like Atasam Hospital in Northeast Turkey which we partnered with in 2022, bringing robotic surgery to their region for the first time.

Since we pioneered the secondhand surgical robotics industry, there was no way for us to look into what other companies have done in the past because we’re the first. While of course we use insights and knowledge gained from the past experience and education of our entire team, we also have to brainstorm every step of the way and build processes and foundations where previously there were none.

Fortunately, we have built an incredible team and extremely valuable relationships since our founding. We’re building from the ground up, but we continue to grow because we’re leveraging every person and asset we have access to. Our key relationships and extremely capable team are how we continue to overcome every hurdle and grow rapidly.

We have yet to enter the venture capital fundraising stage of our startup. I made enough money from personal pursuits that allowed me to purchase my first surgical robot and flip it for a profit. That is what started it all for R2 Surgical and remains our primary form of income at this time.

Investors may become a part of our future down the road, but for now we’re establishing and refining our current processes, expanding our methods and reach, and investing in the skills of our team to facilitate our growth.

First and foremost, we have to demonstrate this is a viable market and that we understand how to establish this emerging industry and establish ourselves as key players within it. We’re tackling this hurdle by doing just that: proving there’s a need for our work and pioneering the venture.

We have been acquiring, refurbishing, and reselling pre-owned surgical robots for several years now and are partnering with healthcare institutions like Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine and hospitals in remote areas of the world to achieve our purpose.

We’re currently in the planning phase of filming a documentary about our collaboration with Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine and how our work together is a significant leap in integrating robotic technology to foster progress in veterinary medicine. (https://r2surgical.com/blogs/news/cornell-university-performs-first-live-animal-robotic-gastropexy-with-assistance-from-r2-surgical).

We’re also expanding our expertise into other surgical specialities beyond soft tissue laparoscopic robots like the da Vinci. We source and sell orthopedic robots like the Stryker Mako, Zimmer Biomet ROSA, Smith & Nephew CORI, spinal/neuro/cranial robots like Globus Medical’s ExcelsiusGPS, and bronchoscopy systems like Johnson & Johnson’s Monarch.

I’m concerned about the increase in medical waste that can come with a booming surgical robotics industry. This technology is developing and advancing extremely rapidly and as old models get discarded in favor of newer ones, we’ve seen this equipment get thrown out or stored away indefinitely because hospitals don’t know what to do with them.

However, the other side of this concern is excitement because as we grow, so will our ability to access this equipment and ensure it finds a second life. I’m also very interested in the trend towards AI in general and more specifically in robotics technology. I’m confident that the evolution of AI can be a great thing, but I’m concerned that its rapid adoption across sectors before the technology is worthy of widespread adoption could be a negative in many senses.

If I could offer a piece of advice to my younger self at the start of this venture, it would be to prioritize building a scalable foundation as much as focusing on immediate growth. In the whirlwind of organic expansion, it's all too easy to only concentrate on the present challenges and opportunities, potentially overlooking the crucial infrastructure that supports sustainable growth over time.

Maintaining our commitment to existing customers and preserving our core value proposition should go hand in hand with the exploration and development of specialized areas. This dual focus ensures that while we innovate and branch out, we never stray from serving our 'bread and butter' base that forms the backbone of our business. Looking back, my advice would be to start laying this scalable groundwork earlier than I did, ensuring that as we grow, we continue to meet our standards of excellence and commitment to every customer.