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8 more surgical robotics companies you need to know

The Versius surgical robotics system [Image from CMR Surgical] You know the big hitters in surgical robotics. Here are some of the companies you may not know about, but you should keep an eye on them.

Last month, MassDevice compiled a list of 16 surgical robotics companies you need to know. That list included the usual suspects, like Intuitive, Medtronic, Johnson & Johnson and more. But, a list of 16 companies hardly scratches the surface.

Competition continues to heat up what is already one of the hottest spaces in medtech. Here are eight more companies that made waves in robot-assisted surgery recently:

Company Robotic system CMR Surgical Versius Medical Microinstruments Symani Levita Magnetics MARS Virtuoso Surgical Virtuoso System eCential Robotics Surgivisio Globus Medical ExcelsiusGPS Distalmotion Dexter Quantum Surgical Epione CMR Surgical

Cambridge, United Kingdom-based CMR Surgical took a massive step forward in 2021.

The …

Medical Microinstruments launches new NanoWrist instruments for surgical robot

[Image from Medical Microsintruments]Medical Microinstruments announced today that it launched its new supermicro NanoWrist instruments for its Symani surgical robot.

Pisa, Italy-based Medical Microinstruments designed the Nanowrist instruments to address the challenges of microsurgery. Surgeons in Europe recently used the new supermicro needle holder and dilator in clinical procedures with successful outcomes.

According to a news release, surgeons have used the instruments in Zürich (Switzerland), Florence (Italy), and Salzburg (Austria).

In Austria, Dr. Simon Enzinger of the University Hospital Salzburg used them in a partial glossectomy. In the procedure, he raised a lateral arm free flap to replace a large section of a patient’s tongue that required removal due to cancer.

To return blood flow to the transferred tissue, Enzinger used the supermicro NanoWrist instruments to connect the branch of the radial collateral artery to a side brand o…

FDA clears eCential Robotics’ spine surgery robot

The robotic arm of the eCential Robotics platform for spine surgery [Image courtesy of eCential Robotics]French robotic spine surgery tech company eCential Robotics announced today that it has received FDA clearance for its 3D imaging, navigation and robotics guidance system.

With the help of recent partnerships with U.S. implant companies, Gières, France–based eCential Robotics plans to start selling its surgical robotics system in North America. The company has already sold 10 systems in Europe, with more than 2,000 surgeries.

“The FDA clearance of the eCential Robotics unified platform recognizes reliability and robustness of our product, confirms the confidence in eCential Robotics’ unique concept of focusing surgical workflows on the essential via a unified, open and multi-app system, and also encourages our ambition to expand our footprint in the United States,” said Laurence Chabanas, the company’s chief strategy officer and U.S. CEO…

How IP protection is enabling robotic surgery innovation

Vicarious Surgical has been generating buzz in the robotic surgery space, but none of it would happen if IP protection wasn’t shielding the value of its technology.

[Beta 2 image courtesy of Vicarious Surgical]

Count Vicarious Surgical among a group of relatively young surgical robotics companies seeking to innovate and make a difference in a space that has been dominated by Intuitive. Vicarious’ technology uses proprietary human-like surgical robots combined with 3D visualization to transport surgeons inside the patient to perform minimally invasive surgery.

Vicarious Surgical CEO Adam Sachs announced on his latest earnings call that the Waltham, Massachusetts–based company has completed the design of its Beta 2 robotic surgery platform. It’s beginning the integration phase of the build, and the company has inked center of excellence agreements with the nationwide HCA Healthcare as well as University Hospitals…

16 surgical robotics companies you need to know

Intuitive remains the dominant surgical robotics company, but corporations ranging from Medtronic to Vicarious Surgical look to compete. The Da Vinci Xi robotic surgery system. Intuitive continues to dominate the space. [Image courtesy of Intuitive]Robotic-assisted surgery remains one of the hottest spaces in medtech. Intuitive, which pioneered the field in the 1990s and early 2000s, continues to innovate. At the same time, a host of other companies are looking to compete.

Companies making headlines in the robotic surgery space over the past year include:

Company Robotic system(s) Intuitive Surgical Da Vinci Xi, Da Vinci X, Da Vinci SP, Ion Medtronic Hugo Johnson & Johnson Monarch, Velys, Ottava Stryker Mako Siemens Healthineers’ Corindus CorPath GRX Vicarious Surgical Beta 2 Titan Medical Enos Asensus Surgical Senhance Moon Surgical Maestro Momentus Surgical Anovo Virtual Incision MIRA Stereotaxis Genesis RMN, Vdrive, Niobe Monteris …

Does Asensus Surgical have a Russia problem?

Asensus Surgical’s Senhance surgical system [Photo courtesy of Asensus Surgical]Add the Russia-Ukraine war to the potential challenges facing Asensus Surgical (NYSE American: ASXC) as it seeks to innovate in the surgical robotics space.

Research Triangle Park, North Carolina–based Asensus today announced the sale of one of its Senhance surgical systems, an important development given that its 2021 annual report lists a total of two Senhance system sales and one lease buyout.

The company, however, didn’t name the hospital or country where its distribution partner placed the system. It only said that it was a hospital in the Commonwealth of Independent States, the international organization of countries that includes Russia and many of the other countries that made up the former Soviet Union.

Asensus Surgical spokespeople did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The company is scheduled to release Q2 earnings on Aug. 8.

Since Ru…

Former Mazor VP accused of insider trading around Medtronic acquisition

[Image from Unsplash]A former Mazor Robotics VP is among three businessmen facing federal insider trading charges and an SEC lawsuit over stock trades leading up to Medtronic’s $1.6 billion acquisition announcement in 2018.

Ron Tavlin was Mazor’s VP of business development from 2017 to 2019. Before that, he’d been a paid consultant for Medtronic. The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Minnesota and the SEC claim that Tavlin tipped off his friend Afshin Farahan about the impending deal in 2018, and that Farahan then bought Mazor stock and tipped off friend David Gantman to buy more Mazor stock as well as call options.

Farahan and Gantman made a profit of about $500,000 off the allegedly illegal trades, according to authorities. More than a year late, Farahan gave Tavlin a $25,000 check.

Federal prosecutors also claim that when the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) reached out to Tavlin after the trades with a list of people and e…

Memic Innovative Surgery partners with VirtaMed to develop robotic surgery VR training

Hominis humanoid-shaped arms inside the virtual reality simulation [Image courtesy of VirtaMed]VirtaMed and Memic Innovative Surgery announced today that they will work together to develop virtual reality simulations for surgeons training on Memic’s Hominis surgical system.

The FDA-authorized Hominis surgical robot features small humanoid-shaped arms that include shoulder, elbow and wrist joints to provide human-level dexterity and 360-degree articulation. The surgical robotics system has an indication for use in single-site, natural orifice laparoscopic-assisted transvaginal benign gynecological procedures including benign hysterectomy.

Get the full story on our sister site Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Medtronic performs first procedure with Hugo surgical robot in Europe

[Image from Medtronic]Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it performed the first clinical procedure in Europe with its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system.

Dr. Alexandre Mottrie, head of urology at OLV Hospital in Aalst, Belgium, and CEO and founder of the Belgium-based ORSI Academy for training, R&D and data analysis for improving minimally invasive surgery best practices, performed the robotic prostatectomy. Hugo received CE mark approval for urologic and gynecologic procedures in October 2021.

Read: President of Medtronic’s surgical robotics business Megan Rosengarten shares the company’s excitement as Hugo clears European regulatory milestone.

“Performing Europe’s very first procedure with the Hugo RAS system is a career highlight for me,” Mottrie said in a news release. “With more than two decades and 4,000 robotic-assisted surgery procedures under my belt, I am intimately aware of the barriers that have kept th…

Johnson & Johnson must face former Auris Health shareholders’ fraud lawsuit

[Image from Unsplash]A Delaware judge has denied Johnson & Johnson’s motions to dismiss a fraud lawsuit filed by former shareholders of Auris Health, who alleged that J&J executives misrepresented their intentions for the robotic surgery company when they acquired it for $3.4 billion in 2019.

Acting as the representative of the former Auris shareholders, Fortis Advisors sued last year after the medtech giant released reserves related to the additional $2.35 billion in milestone payments that were part of the agreement.

J&J, its Ethicon subsidiary and top corporate officers violated the merger agreement and made false promises during negotiations, according to the lawsuit.

Vice Chancellor Lori W. Will in Delaware, in a December 13 order, allowed more than half of Fortis Advisors counts against J&J to proceed, though she dismissed claims against individual J&J executives on jurisdictional grounds.

Surgical robotics is a hot sp…

Intuitive wins FDA clearance for robotic stapler

Intuitive (NSDQ:ISRG) announced today that it received FDA clearance for its SureForm stapler and reloads for use in surgery.

Sunnyvale, California-based Intuitive designed its fully wristed, 8 mm SureForm 30 curved-tip stapler and reloads (gray, white and blue) for use in general, thoracic, gynecologic, urologic and pediatric surgery.

Its aim is to help surgeons better visualize and reach anatomy through a combination of the 8 mm diameter instrument shaft and jaws, 120-degree cone of wristed articulation and the curved tip. As the stapler fits through the 8 mm da Vinci surgical robot instrument cannula, it allows different angles for surgeons to approach patient anatomy.

The 8mm SureForm 30 curved-tip stapler also integrates SmartFire software for optimizing staple line performance by measuring tissue compression before and during stapling.

According to a news release, the company expects to launch the 8 mm SureForm 30 stapler in the U.S. in 2022…

Supply chain, manufacturing issues slow Medtronic’s Hugo launch, ramp-up expected next fiscal year

Medtronic’s Hugo robot-assisted surgery system [Image courtesy of Medtronic]

Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) Chairman & CEO Geoff Martha confirmed that the launch of the Hugo surgical robot platform is slightly off-schedule.

Speaking on the company’s second-quarter earnings call today, Martha said the launch of the platform, which the company has developed to challenge Intuitive Surgical in the surgical robotics space, is “not on-schedule but not off-track” at this stage.

Hugo received CE mark approval last month and the company is gearing up to conduct its FDA investigational device exemption (IDE) clinical trials in the U.S., with more on the company’s stateside efforts still to come, President of Medtronic’s surgical robotics business, Megan Rosengarten, told MDO recently.

The launch that followed is currently in what Martha called a “limited-release phase” as the c…