What It Is / Institutional Role
- The AdventHealth Nicholson Center (formerly Florida Hospital Nicholson Center) is an education-and-training center under the AdventHealth system. Wikipedia+2AdventHealth+2
- It’s located in Celebration / Orlando, Florida. AdventHealth+1
- Rather than being a hospital that provides standard patient care via robotics, its core mission is training, simulation, and research around minimally invasive and robotic surgery. AdventHealth+2AdventHealth+2
2. Training & Education Infrastructure
- Simulation Lab: They have a robust simulation facility with three rooms that can be configured for laparoscopic and robotic simulation. AdventHealth
- Skills / Surgical Lab: There is a 5-room skills lab (wet + dry) for different surgical disciplines, including robotic stations. AdventHealth
- Cadaver Labs: They host cadaver-based training — important for realistic surgical practice. AdventHealth
- FRS (Fundamentals of Robotic Surgery) Dome: They use a psychomotor “dome” device to train key robotic surgeon skills (instrument control, suturing, dissection, 3D-coordination, etc.). AdventHealth+1
3. Robotic Equipment & Systems
- The Nicholson Center houses multiple da Vinci® surgical systems for training. AdventHealth
- They also use da Vinci Skills Simulator (from Intuitive), Mimic dV-Trainer, a “Robotic Surgery Simulator” by Simulated Surgical Systems. AdventHealth
- Importantly, they support other robotic systems:
- Mazor-Renaissance Guidance System (spine robotics) is available for training. AdventHealth
- They are training facility for CMR Surgical’s Versius® robot (modular, portable surgical robot). AdventHealth
4. Innovation & Partnerships
- CMR Surgical Partnership: Nicholson Center became the first U.S. training center for CMR Surgical’s Versius robot, helping run FDA validation and training surgical teams. AdventHealth
- Surgical Curriculum: They have developed structured curricula for robotic surgery and simulation, which include cognitive + technical + team training. AdventHealth+1
- They host CME (Continuing Medical Education) courses for surgeons, device companies, and healthcare professionals. AdventHealth
5. Research & Strategic Impact
- The Nicholson Center is a research hub: they study tele-surgery, simulation effectiveness, surgeon psychomotor skills, and more. Wikipedia
- They’ve worked with the U.S. military (via grants) to explore remote surgery / telesurgery, simulating latency, etc. AdventHealth+1
- According to a whitepaper, the Nicholson Center is “the largest training facility in the U.S. not associated with a traditional academic medical school” for surgical robotics. The Robot Report
6. Educational Programs & Degrees
- MS in Robotic Surgery: In partnership with AdventHealth University, they run a Master of Science in Robotic Surgery (MSRS). Physicians complete a CARS (Certificate in Advanced Robotic Surgery) at the Nicholson Center as part of this program. AdventHealth University
- This program is designed for surgeons / doctors in many specialties (urology, general surgery, gynecology, thoracic, ENT, etc.). AdventHealth University
7. Impact / Significance
- Global Training Reach: The Center has trained tens of thousands of clinicians from around the world. AdventHealth
- Industry Collaboration: Because they partner with robotics companies (like CMR), Nicholson Center acts as a bridge between surgical innovation and clinical adoption.
- Safety & Standardization: By using simulation (dry lab, dome, wet lab), they improve surgeon readiness before real surgeries — lowering risk and standardizing training.
8. Challenges / Considerations
- As a training center (not a patient-care hospital), its influence is indirect — it doesn’t itself treat patients, but prepares surgeons.
- Maintaining cutting-edge simulation equipment and multiple robotic platforms is resource-intensive.
- The value of training vs clinical exposure: simulation helps, but real surgical experience is still essential.
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