Melbourne will soon be home to a new robotic surgery training centre, with a AU$2 million funding boost from the Victorian government.

The new training centre will be named the Australian Medical Robotics Academy and will train Australian and international specialists on “the use of medical robots for minimally invasive surgery for cancer treatment,” ZDNet quoted the state government as saying.

“This cutting-edge facility will usher in a new age of surgery that will change the lives of patients from right around the world,” Victorian Minister for Health Jill Hennessy was quoted as saying.

“We’re putting Victoria at the forefront of the highest standards of surgical training. The world’s brightest medical minds will travel here from all over the world to learn new skills.”

Featuring virtual reality (VR) surgical simulators, the robotic surgery academy will provide surgeons with feedback to “build their skills” before live surgery.

According to a report, the global surgical robotics market (consisting of various product segments such as surgical systems, instruments and accessories and maintenance services) is expected to reach $12.60 billion by 2025. The instruments and accessories segment had the highest market value in 2016, growing at the CAGR of 11.4% during the forecast period 2017-2025. However, services (maintenance and up-gradation) are expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 12.9% during the forecast period 2017-2025, the report said. This is an exciting time for the global surgical robotics market as the demand for minimally invasive cancer procedures is booming.