Switzerland-based startup firm Nanoflex Robotics has announced that it recently installed its first remote-ready robotics system for neurovascular procedures at the Jacobs Institute (Buffalo, USA).
The Nanoflex Robotics system uses a compact magnetic field generator and a navigation control unit to guide ultra-flexible devices through the body for a range of complex vascular interventions, as per a company press release. This technology allows physicians to directly control, bend and guide the tip of the guidewire through the body’s vasculature, enabling them to conduct procedures “at the bedside, or thousands of miles away”.
The company’s first target application is to make remote mechanical thrombectomies a reality for acute ischaemic stroke patients, the release continues. By reducing the need for interhospital transfers, the hope is that this will shorten the time to reperfusion and potentially better preserve a patient’s quality of life.
“We are thrilled to collaborate with the esteemed Jacobs Institute in New York for the first installation of our robotics system,” said Matt Curran, chief executive officer of Nanoflex Robotics. “We believe remote robotics has the potential to transform surgical outcomes and benefit patients by enabling greater and earlier access to critical treatments.”
The company’s remote-ready robotics system will be enabled for usability testing, in-vivo studies, and training, at the Jacobs Institute. Furthermore, due to growing clinician interest in the system, it will also serve as a site for physician demonstrations, the release adds.
“Robotic neurovascular intervention is undoubtably the future. We are delighted to work with Nanoflex Robotics to prove this concept,” said Adnan Siddiqui (University at Buffalo, Buffalo, USA), chief executive officer and chief medical officer of the Jacobs Institute.
The installation of Nanoflex Robotics’ first remote robotics system comes shortly after the company received an ISO 13485 certification for its quality management system in designing and manufacturing remote robotic devices for endovascular interventions, the release also notes.
