Medrobotics Corp. has closed on a $20 million preferred stock financing. Proceeds will be used to fund the Raynham, Mass.-based company's expansion into new surgical applications for its Flex Robotic System.

The company first gained FDA clearance for the device in 2015 for transoral applications in the ear, nose and throat, and it has had CE mark for colorectal applications using a transanal approach since 2014.

"The Flex Robotic System is a steerable sheathable platform, and it's not limited to line of site access for surgical targets," Tom Patzelt, vice president of marketing for Medrobotics, told Medical Device Daily.

"Therefore, it has the capability of being able to access hard to reach places to perform procedures," he said.

The company noted that most surgical robotic systems on the market today are based on straight or linear technology and are limited to line of site access.

Using the Flex Robotic System, surgeons can operate through a single access site and direct the scope to the surgical target, the company said. Once positioned, the scope can become rigid, forming a stable surgical platform from which the surgeon can pass flexible surgical instruments. The system includes on-board HD visualization to give surgeons a clear view of the navigation path and surgical site.

This recent funding will give the company the opportunity to explore a single port abdominal approach, which could be delivered through the belly button. This has the potential to open up the system for applications in general surgery, gynecology and urology.

"This round is focused on us developing the single port applications as well as developing more fully robotic instrument options associated with our system," Patzelt said. "People used to think of us as being limited to ear, nose and throat procedures, then they thought we were limited to luminal procedures. Now we've indicated that in addition to those, we're also developing capabilities in relatively larger spaces in the abdominal area."

Medrobotics has raised well over $100 million since it was established in 2006, the company said.

ROBOTIC RUMBLINGS

The surgical robotics space is brimming with players other than Medrobotics, which include Transenterix Inc., Intuitive Surgical Inc., Irobot Corp., Titan Medical Inc., Mazor Robotics Ltd., Accuray Inc., Varian Medical Systems Inc., Hansen Medical Inc. and Stereotaxis Inc.

Even companies not traditionally linked to robotics have made a foray into the space. Nearly four years ago, Stryker Corp. became one of those companies when it acquired Mako Surgical Corp. for $1.65 billion. (See Medical Device Daily, Sept. 26, 2013.)

Johnson & Johnson Corp.'s Ethicon Unit jumped into the space with a partnership with Alphabet Inc.'s Verily Lifesciences LLC. Last month Verb demonstrated its first digital surgery prototype to both Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon executives. (See Medical Device Daily, Jan. 27, 2017.) The digital surgery platform prototype included all elements of the company's five technology pillars – robotics, visualization, advanced instrumentation, data analytics and connectivity.

Intuitive Surgical is considered to be the front-runner in the space with its Da Vinci surgical robotics platform. The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company was one of the first companies to have a surgical platform on the market.

Patzelt said, "up until now soft-tissue robotics has been dominated by Intuitive, and in many cases the company and Da Vinci have become synonymous with robotic surgery. The way we're going to get our name in the market is by earning the trust of surgeons and hospitals that we can extend the care they are bringing to patients."

Last year, Intuitive managed to ship 537 Da Vinci systems in 2016, up by about 10 percent from 2015. The installed base of its Da Vinci surgical systems grew from about 1,800 in 2010 to around 4,000 in 2016.

Intuitive is making plans to include single port [access] to Da Vinci along with catheter robotics, diagnostics, advanced imaging, and markers or dyes. The plans could potentially significantly increase the effectiveness of Intuitive's offerings, said Sean Lavin, an analyst for BTIG.

"We believe Intuitive has the experts to pull this transformation off; we like the plan and expect significant success and improved patient outcomes in many areas over the next three to 10 years," Lavin said.