Asensus Surgical (NYSE:ASXC) announced today that it introduced a next-generation surgical robot platform called “Luna.”
Research Triangle Park, North Carolina-based Asensus designed luna as an integrated digital surgery solution. It features a next-generation surgical platform and instruments, plus real-time intraoperative clinical intelligence. Its final component, a secure cloud platform, applies machine learning to deliver clinical insights.
Altogether, the Luna platform enables Asensus’ vision of performance-guided surgery, according to a news release.
The company’s unveiling comes on the heels of two major steps contributing to its progress in surgical robotics. Last week, the company announced a collaboration with Google Cloud on the machine learning aspect of its platform. Two days later, the company announced plans to work with Karl Storz on the marketing and development of its surgical robotics system.
“Our vision is to revolutionize the way surgery is performed and ultimately the way patients are treated. To date, we have made tremendous progress evolving robotically-assisted surgery into digital laparoscopy with the combination of our Senhance Surgical System and the intelligent capabilities of our Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU). However, we expect more from a surgical solution,” said Anthony Fernando, president and CEO of Asensus. “We have first-hand knowledge, shaped by thousands of real-world procedures and years of interactions with surgeons and hospitals, of what the market needs, which is much more than just a robot.”
About the Asensus Surgical Luna platform
Asensus designed Luna based on feedback from over 10,000 digital laparoscopic procedures performed with Senhance.
The next-generation digital surgery platform features advanced minimally invasive instrumentation. It also offers what Asensus said marks the first-ever digital interface between the surgeon and console. Finally, the platform includes industry-leading clinical intelligence tools.
Combined, Asensus believes these features make Luna “poised to revolutionize” surgery.
“The best solution will materially reduce surgical variability and deliver improved outcomes,” Fernando said. “We are working to deliver that solution, a new era of surgery called performance-guided surgery, the foundation of which will be our new Luna Surgical System and the clinical intelligence capabilities provided to surgeons through the ongoing development of the ISU.”
Luna remains under development. Asensus does not yet offer the platform for commercial use.
Developments for the ISU
Asensus also announced incremental feature sets under development for its ISU.
The ISU, a real-time intraoperative surgical image analytics platform, leverages augmented intelligence to reduce surgical variability. It allows the surgeon to measure anatomy, place digital tags, enhance surgical images and utilize AI-driven control of the camera.
Asensus intends to add an analytical feature set to the ISU. This set includes pre-operative surgical planning that allows surgeons to map out and plan for specific surgical actions intraoperatively.
The company also plans to add a safety feature set that includes a “no-fly zone” functionality. This enables the identification and marking of potential hazards during the operation. Asensus said it restricts instruments from entering into defined anatomical structures.
Finally, the company is developing a training and education set. This includes telestration, allowing multiple team members to work together in real-time. It allows for annotating, highlighting and drawing on a shared visual display of the surgical field.