Number of the day - 1st ever

"March 7, 2024 – AcuSurgical, a company developing the world first bi-manual ophthalmology robot Luca™, announces today the completion of its first clinical case, which was successfully and safely performed at Ghent University Hospital in Belgium by Dr. Fanny Nerinckx.

Retinal surgeries are among the most delicate and intricate procedures in ophthalmology, requiring an unprecedented level of precision to operate on structures the size of a fraction of a hair. Retinal disease has a huge societal impact, affecting three hundred million people around the world, and touching 1 in 3 persons in the US and Europe at some point in their lives.

The Luca™ robotic surgery platform advances procedural capabilities while providing improved control for the surgeon, such as augmenting surgical precision by a factor of 20. By enhancing the surgeon's dexterity, the system improves the quality of surgeries performed today and enables game-changing new treatments for retinal diseases, such as Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD).

Dr. Fanny Nerinckx, senior vitreoretinal surgeon, who performed the surgery stated, "I operated on my patient with two instruments and AcuSurgical's robot provided an unparalleled level of control and accuracy. This technology represents a major leap forward for our specialty and offers new surgical possibilities to treat our patients ."

"We are thrilled that a patient was effectively and safely operated today using our novel technology," said Christoph Spuhler, CEO of AcuSurgical. "Luca opens the way to augment retinal surgery with advanced technologies, such as AI and augmented visualization, and will lead to a whole panel of new revolutionary treatments for retinal disease. Moving forward, we plan to complete the clinical study enrollment to support future regulatory registration of our robot in Europe and in the US.""

Source: AcuSurgical