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DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS
6 Months Ended
Jun. 30, 2018
Accounting Policies [Abstract]  
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS
DESCRIPTION OF THE BUSINESS
Intuitive Surgical, Inc. designs, manufactures, and markets da Vinci® Surgical Systems and related instruments and accessories, which taken together, the Company considers to be an advanced generation of surgery. This advanced generation of surgery, which the Company calls da Vinci Surgery, combines the benefits of minimally invasive surgery (“MIS”) for patients with the ease of use, precision, and dexterity of open surgery. A da Vinci Surgical System consists of a surgeon’s console, a patient-side cart, and a high performance vision system. The da Vinci Surgical System translates a surgeon’s natural hand movements, which are performed on instrument controls at a console, into corresponding micro-movements of instruments positioned inside the patient through small incisions, or ports. The da Vinci Surgical System is designed to provide its operating surgeons with intuitive control, range of motion, fine tissue manipulation capability, and Three Dimensional (“3-D”) High-Definition (“HD”) vision while simultaneously allowing surgeons to work through the small ports enabled by MIS procedures.