Medtronic plc strengthened its suite of products for minimally invasive spine surgery with several new additions. The portfolio provides an integrated solution that includes implants, navigation, robotics, and artificial intelligence to streamline transforaminal lumbar interbody fusion (TLIF), customize treatment for patients and improve outcomes.

The medical device company Distalmotion SA has hit a regulatory milestone in the commercialization of its surgical robot, Dexter, earning a CE mark in Europe. The Dexter surgical robot is built with the aim of allowing surgeons to take a hybrid approach to minimally invasive surgery, using the robot for tasks such as suturing and complex dissections while switching to a laparoscopic approach for stapling and basic dissections.

Virtual Incision Corp. revealed that it had received a green light from the U.S. FDA to begin its study of its miniaturized in vivo robotic assistant (MIRA) Platform. Initially, the company will focus the platform on minimally invasive laparoscopic colon surgery. With the MIRA Platform, the company will aim to enter a growing market in the U.S., where more than 400,000 colon resection procedures are performed each year.