FDA clears Medrobotics’ robotic surgical platform for expanded use

The FDA has signed off on an extended list of uses for Medrobotics’ robotic platform. Surgeons can now use the flexible robotic scope to visualize and access sites in procedures that start with incisions to the abdomen or thoracic cavity.

Medrobotics prior approval limited use of the robot-assisted visualization platform to procedures that involved entering the body through natural orifices. In expanding use of the technology to cover general, gynecological and thoracic procedures that involve transabdominal and transthoracic entry, Medrobotics has cleared the path to use in more minimally-invasive procedures.

“This clearance is a vital step in our commitment to minimize the impact of surgery by offering less invasive procedures through a single incision in the abdomen or thoracic cavity versus the multiple incisions that are currently required,” Medrobotics CEO Samuel Straface, Ph.D., said in a statement.

Medrobotics first picked up an FDA nod in 2015 when the agency cleared the Flex system for use in procedures involving the oropharynx, hypopharynx and larynx. The agency added visualizations and surgical site access of the anus, rectum and distal colon to the list of approved uses last year, and it has now cleared the platform for use in another clutch of indications.

The Raynham, Mass.-based device business plans to follow up on the latest regulatory clearance by stepping up its interest in other indications, notably transvaginal gynecologic procedures.