The Symani surgical system from Medical Microinstruments.
Medical Microinstruments (MMI) today said its Symani surgical system was successful in a post-traumatic limb reconstruction procedure that saved a patient’s arm from amputation. The reconstruction procedure was performed at Careggi University Hospital Florence by Dr. Marco Innocenti and was the first enrolled patient in the Italy-based company’s post-market study.
The young adult in the procedure was a candidate for a free-flap reconstruction to save the arm after amputation was recommended. A free-flap reconstruction, also known as free tissue transfer, is a procedure in which tissue and its blood supply (artery and vein) are surgically removed from one part of the body and transferred to another area of the body. The robotic-assisted procedure successfully restored blood flow to the area despite severe damage and extensive scar tissue inside the arm, according to the company.
MMI designed the Symani system as a flexible platform with two robotic arms that can be positioned for surgical procedures across any anatomical region. The surgical robot has a 7-20X motion scaling with tremor filtration for microsurgery and super microsurgery. Surgeons can scale hand movements while articulating the NanoWrist robotic microinstruments. NanoWrist has seven degrees of freedom for optimal dexterity inside of minimally invasive incisions.
“Robotic-assisted technology is a revolutionary tool for microsurgery, because it allows physicians to complete procedures that are difficult or impossible with the human hand,” Innocenti said. “By increasing our precision, we can reconnect sub-millimeter vessels and nerves that enable reconstruction even after severe trauma. I am confident our post-market study will show significant advantages to improving patient outcomes, as the patient in the motorcycle accident would have lost her arm without robotic-assisted microsurgery.”
The Symani Surgical System won CE mark approval in November 2020. It’s meant to enhance free-flap reconstructions, replantation, congenital malformations, peripheral nerve repairs and lymphatic surgeries. MMI said the surgical robot reduces the occurrence of thrombosis by 50% in preclinical studies.
“By evolving surgical intervention from a manual process to one that leverages robotic technology, we can open the door to procedures that have never been done before,” CEO Mark Toland said. “Prof. Innocenti’s accomplishment, in this case, is an extremely exciting piece of validation for our technology that will contribute to our data collection for our growing global regulatory strategy.”
The video below demonstrates the surgical robot‘s capability to perform surgery on a pig’s eye.
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