Titan Medical (TSX:TMD) said today it inked a deal with the French Institut Hospitalo-Universitaire de Strasbourg to participate in feasibility and validation studies of its Sport robotic surgical system as the company seeks regulatory clearance for the platform. Toronto-based Titan Medical said it expects to initiate studies of its Sport system in the 4th quarter of this…
IotaMotion raises $2m for robotic cochlear implant system
Medical robotics start-up IotaMotion said today it raised $2 million in a seed financing round to support the development of its Iota-Soft novel robotic cochlear implantation platform. The Iowa City-based company, spun out from the University of Iowa’s Otolaryngology Department, is developing a robotic-assisted insertion device designed to aid surgeons in advancing cochlear implant electrodes.…
Study: Esophageal surgeries with robotic platforms safe and effective
Transchiatal esophagectomy procedures utilizing robotic platforms are “effective and safe” for carefully selected patients, according to a new study from Allina Health hospitals. The robotic technology platforms can provide operating surgeons with better views during surgery and allow lymph nodes to be removed without additional incisions, according to the study. Results from the study, which…
Bionik Labs integrates Amazon voice control tech into Arke lower body exoskeleton
Robotic rehabilitation device developer Bionik Laboratories said today it integrated Amazon‘s (NSDQ:AMZN) Echo and Alexa voice technology into its Arke lower body exoskeleton. With the integration users of the Arke exoskeleton will be able to control the system and its various activity modes, including standing and walking, through voice commands, the Toronto-based company said. “We…
Auris Surgical reels in $280m in stealthy Series D round
Auris Surgical Robotics has stealthily raised a massive $280 million in a Series D round of financing, according to the company’s website and an SEC filing posted today. Money in the round came from 39 investors, led by newly invested Coatue Management and joined by Mithril, Lux Capital and Highland Capital Partners, according to the…
Globus Medical acquires robotic surgical dev KB Medical, posts Q2 earnings
Globus Medical (NYSE:GMED) said today it acquired Swiss robotic developer KB Medical, and released 2nd quarter earnings that beat The Streets earnings per share expectations, but fell short of sales expectations. The company said it closed the acquisition of KB Medical during its 2nd quarter, and that the buy would help expand its imaging, navigation and…
ReWalk Robotics touts Harvard-led Restore soft exosuit study
ReWalk Robotics (NSDQ:RWLK) today released results from a study of a soft suit exoskeleton system designed to aid ambulatory stroke patients, touting that the system was able to facilitate normal walking ability in patients. The study was authored by researchers at Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering and Boston University, and utilized a prototype that…
Titan Medical makes Longtai largest shareholder in $2m distributorship conversion
Titan Medical (TSX:TMD) said today that it inked a deal with Longtai Medical to convert $2 million Longtai paid as a distributorship deposit to equity, making Longtai the robotic surgical company’s largest shareholder. The conversion comes 2 years after Titan Medical and Longtai negotiated a deal that would have made Longtai the company’s exclusive distributor of its…
TransEnterix touts 1st micro-laparoscopic robotic surgeries with Senhance
TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC) today touted that its Senhance Surgical Robot system was used in the 1st 3mm micro laparoscopic robotic surgeries globally. The surgeries were performed at France’s CHU Saint-Ètienne and at Rome’s Policlinico A. Gemelli Foundation, the Research Triangle, N.C.-based company said, by Dr. Celine Chauler, Dr. Salvatore Aletti and Dr. Gabriele Barabino. “Patients are consistently…
Titan Medical adds $1m to offering
Titan Medical (TSX:TMD) today announced the 2nd closing of a public offering of shares, bringing in an additional $1.3 million (CDN $1.7 million) on top of a previously raised $5.7 million (CDN $7.3 million) for a total of $7.1 million (CDN $8.9 million). The Toronto-based surgical robotics company said it sold an additional 11.1 million shares…
ReWalk Robotics inks French distro deal with Harmonie Médical Service
ReWalk Robotics (NSDQ:RWLK) said today it inked an exclusive French distribution deal with Harmonie Médical Service. Through the deal, HMS will operate as sole distributor of the ReWalk exoskeleton systems for individuals with spinal cord injuries in France. The deal includes both the ReWalk Personal and ReWalk Rehabilitation systems for home and clinical use, respectively. “Our partnership…
Titan Medical finds partner for Sport robotic platform feasibility, validation studies
Titan Medical (TSX:TMD) said today it inked a collaborative deal with Florida Hospital Nicholson Center to engage in a feasibility and validation study of Titan’s Sport robotic surgical system as the company seeks regulatory approval for the platform. The Toronto-based robotic surgical system developer said it expects to commence the studies in the 4th quarter, with…
Bionik Labs and Wistron to partner on development of powered exoskeleton
Robotic developer Bionik Laboratories and tech service provider Wistron said today they are partnering to design, engineer and manufacture low-price lower-body assistive robotic technologies for the consumer medical device market. The companies said the new development will be based on Bionik’s currently-in-development Arke lower body exoskeleton, which is being designed for rehabilitation use, and will…
Intuitive Surgical wins FDA nod for inguinal hernia repairs with da Vinci Xi
Update: Removed information claiming benefits of robotic hernia surgeries at request of Intuitive Surgical, which said that the data came from an inaccurate source and was not valid. Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) said today it won FDA clearance for inguinal hernia repairs with its da Vinci Xi robotic surgical system. Inguinal hernias occur when tissue presses through…
ReWalk debuts Restore soft-suit exoskeleton prototype
ReWalk Robotics (NSDQ:RWLK) today debuted the prototype of its Restore soft suit exoskeleton designed to aid stroke survivors. The company presented the prototype alongside collaborators from Harvard University’s Wyss Institute for Biologically Inspired Engineering, and said it would focus on the suit as a “core company goal” for the fiscal year. “We are thrilled with the…
Titan Medical shareholders approve reverse split
Titan Medical (CVE:TMD) said today its shareholders approved a reverse stock split. The ratio of shares has yet to be announced, according to a press release, and will be determined by the board of directors of the company in its sole discretion. Toronto-based Titan Medical added that the range of post-consolidation shares will be a single…
Intuitive Surgical wins FDA nod for daVinci X platform
Intuitive Surgical (NSDQ:ISRG) said today it won FDA 510(k) clearance for its new da Vinci X robotic surgical system, with a planned release of the platform later this year. The newly cleared da Vinci X system offers access to multiple robotic-assisted surgical technologies at a lower price than previous models, the Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company said. The…
Zimmer Biomet licenses knee patents from Bonutti
Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) said today it inked a deal with device incubator Bonutti Research for 2 families of patents related to knee technologies. The Warsaw, Ind.-based company licensed a patent which Bonutti says “adds to the strength” of the Persona personalized knee system and its NexGen Complete knee solution. Zimmer-Biomet also licensed 2 other patents from Bonutti which it…
Zimmer Biomet warns on isocentric movement issues in Rosa platforms
Zimmer Biomet (NYSE:ZBH) today issued a voluntary medical device field action for its Rosa Brain, Rosa Spine and Rosa One surgical robotic platforms over movement issues with the systems’ robotic arms. The company said that a situation can occur where the robot arm’s position is automatically sent to the trajectory input due to an imperfect mathematical…
Robocath raises $5.2m for R-one robotic platform
Medical robotics start-up Robocath said today it has raised $5.2 million (EU €4.7 million) in a new round of funding. The round was led by M Capital and Normandie Participations and joined by previous investors Go Capital and NCI, the Rouen, France-based company said. Robocath is developing the R-one robotic platform designed for interventional cardiology,…
Corindus touts high success rate in CorPath 200 PCI registry study
Corindus Vascular Robotics (NYSE:CVRS) released post-market findings from the Precision registry study of its CorPath 200 system used during percutaneous coronary interventions, touting high clinical and technical success rates. Data from the registry study was presented at the 2017 Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions Scientific Sessions last Friday, the Waltham, Mass.-based company said. The Precision…
Medrobotics wins Australian nod for colorectal procedures with Flex platform
Medrobotics said today it won Australian TGA regulatory clearance for its Flex robot-assisted surgery platform, with indications for colorectal procedures. The Raynham, Mass.-based company won indications for colorectal procedures from the FDA earlier this month, and won similar expanded CE Mark approval in the European Union last October. The system won 510(k) clearance from the FDA for transoral procedures in July…