Asensus Surgical TransEnterixAsensus Surgical (NYSE American: ASXC) announced today that FDA has cleared 5 mm diameter articulating instruments for the company’s Senhance surgical system.

The instruments previously received a CE mark in the EU. They provide better access to difficult-to-reach areas of the anatomy by providing two additional degrees of freedom.

“Bringing the benefits of 5 mm articulating instruments to the Senhance surgical system in the U.S. will widen the clinical utility and value of our platform,” Asensus Surgical  CEO Anthony Fernando said in a news release. “Combining articulation and haptics with augmented intelligence is a very promising development for performance-guided surgery.”

The Senhance system is a digital laparoscopic platform that leverages augmented intelligence, with the goal of boosting performance and patient outcomes. Senhance includes surgical assurance through haptic feedback, eye-tracking camera control and 3D visualization. Asensus Surgical officials say Senhance is the first platform to offer 3 mm instruments.