HONG KONG – Seoul, South Korea-based 3D inspection device maker Koh Young Technology Inc. is looking to expand into the global market with its neurosurgical robotics system Kymero after securing its first client in its home country in June.
Mastor SAS secured €3 million (US$3.39 million) in seed investment from Sofinnova Partners' MD Start III Fund and €1.9 million in non-dilutive funding through the i-Nov Innovation Award from BPI France, the French national public investment bank.
PARIS – Quantum Surgical SAS said it has achieved a world first at the Montpellier University Hospitals by successfully using its medical robot to perform surgery on three patients with liver cancer.
PARIS – Robocath SAS, of Rouen, France, has secured a new $43 million funding round to boost roll-out of its R-One robotic system for treating vascular disease. This series C funding was led by Hong Kong-based Microport Scientific Corp.
Toronto-based Titan Medical Inc. has inked a development and license agreement with Medtronic plc, of Dublin, to advance the development of single-port robotic-assisted surgical tools. A separate agreement gives Medtronic licensing rights to certain Titan intellectual property. The arrangement aligns with Medtronic’s goal of building its robotic-assisted surgery business and gives Titan’s financials a needed shot in the arm.
Robotic-assisted surgical procedures have fallen off steeply as the ongoing global pandemic has unfolded, but the real impact on Intuitive Surgical Inc. will come as its hospital customers may have to limit orders for expensive equipment upgrades as they struggle to manage unprecedented financial burdens. The U.S. accounts for about 70% of its robotic surgery procedures, but by the last few weeks in March, that activity had been curtailed by roughly two-thirds.
PARIS – Quantum Surgical SAS, of Montpellier, France, has been awarded development aid amounting to $2.25 million in grants and repayable loans from Bpifrance bank, as part of the French Deeptech program.
LONDON – Surgeons in the Netherlands have carried out what is claimed as the first human supermicrosurgery, connecting vessels of a diameter as low as 0.3 mm using a purpose-designed robotic system.
Dublin-based Medtronic plc acquired privately held Digital Surgery, which is focused on surgical artificial intelligence (AI), data analytics, and digital education and training. The companies did not release the terms of the deal. Medtronic plans to integrate Digital Surgery’s AI technology into its robotic platform and across its portfolio.
Intuitive Surgical Inc. more than gave back all its 2020 share price gains thus far, dipping almost 4% on earnings news. Over the past few years, its valuation (NASDAQ:ISRG) repeatedly has climbed, only to later retrench and then rise again to a slightly higher peak.