Symani (robot surgeon)

2022: Start of robotic surgeon use

In early November 2022, medical technology specialist Medical Microinstruments introduced the Symani microsurgical robot. The robotic system is designed to assist in microsurgical operations and has a number of advanced functions to achieve this goal.

The device includes a set of the world's smallest wrist surgical instruments, tremor reduction technology and motion scaling (7-20X), which allows surgeons to perform very small and accurate movements. The company is also working with a software company to develop a surgical simulator that will help train surgeons to work with the system.

Symani (robot surgeon)

The Symani robotic system is a flexible platform consisting of two robotic arms that can be easily positioned in any anatomical area to facilitate surgical procedures. Unlike many surgical robotic platforms that require large rooms or special space, Symani can be easily transported between operating rooms.

In Europe, Symani is approved by the CE sign for open surgical procedures, where precision and scaling of movements are considered useful for the surgeon. More specifically, the system is designed to improve the surgeon's ability to repair anatomical structures such as veins, arteries, nerves and lymphatic vessels up to 0.3 mm in diameter. These techniques are widely used in surgery covering a variety of specialties: reconstructive plastic surgery (after cancer or traumatic accidents), orthopedic surgery, lymphatic surgery, nerve repair surgery, head and neck surgery, and pediatric surgery, to name a few.

The Symani console consists of an ergonomic chair and OperaAir controllers along with a foot switch. As stated in the press release, surgeons can fully focus on the most important stage of suturing, and not on stabilizing the hands. They can move controllers in the same way as when using manual tools, only by scaling movements can they make more significant movements. The console can be sterile and located at the patient's bedside or used with a 3D imaging system.

Medical Microinstruments in 2022 announced the raising of $75 million in series B funding to accelerate clinical development and commercialization of the system. The funds will be used to launch for the next stage of growth as developers continue their mission to improve the quality of patient care by expanding the boundaries of microsurgery. In particular, they plan to expand the readings and support current commercialization activities in Europe, where the system received the CE mark in 2019. The company's management also wants to accelerate plans to ensure the device's access to the US and Asia-Pacific markets.^[1]

2020: Symani robot surgeon announcement

At the end of October 2020, the Italian company MMI SpA introduced a system called Symani, which is designed for open microsurgical procedures. According to the developers, the new system uses the world's smallest NanoWrist tool, which duplicates wrist movements. With seven degrees of freedom and mechanisms to reduce tremors and scale movements, this tool acts even more deftly than human hands.

The Symani surgical system is a platform of two robotic manipulators, the position in the space of which can be easily changed depending on the anatomical area. According to MMI, the new system is designed to perform procedures such as free flap tissue reconstruction, replantation, correction of congenital malformations, peripheral nerve repair and surgery on elements of the lymphatic system.

Doctors start using Symani microhurgeon robot that catches man

The Symani system has already been used in humans in four successful robotic operations conducted in Florence, Italy. Three of these procedures were complex PTSDs of the lower extremities and one was pharyngeal reconstruction after the malignant tumor was removed, according to a press release.

The high demand for robotic tools in microsurgery is quite justified, since we have already used all the possibilities of human hands, says MMI co-founder and CEO Giuseppe Maria Prisco. - We founded MMI to develop a robotic microsurgery system that will improve treatment outcomes and be able to find an answer to unmet patient needs. We pay special attention to supermicrosurgery techniques that are necessary for lymphatic vessel surgeries and other extremely delicate procedures.[2]

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