Israeli medical device developer Xact Robotics has raised $5 million in a new round of financing to help support its medical robotic navigation and steering platform, according to a Globes Israel report.
Funds in the round came from existing shareholders, and bring the total raised by the group to date up to $15 million, according to the report.
Xact Robotics, which is controlled by the Medx Ventures Group, is developing a robotic platform for procedures which require the insertion of a thin device at precise points within the body, such as biopsies and drug injections into internal organs.
“The system includes a hand-sized robot which is placed on the patients and utilizes imaging from various imaging systems, such as CT scans and ultrasound, to navigate and steer the device to the correct location within the patients. The robot itself moves the medical tool. It is suitable for all procedures in which medical tool (including a biopsy needle and other tools) passes through the skin while being navigated by imaging. The system has passed preclinical trials in large animal per regulatory requirements. All the cases were completed successfully with precision of under 1.5 millimeters – far greater than what is needed. The robot is able to constantly compare the location of the tool to the target location on the image received in real time. It calculates the direction and the precise movement that should be made, while taking into account the tissue’s actual response and the tool’s response and making adjustments, including in real time. Human beings are incapable of doing this because they depend on processing of what they see on the screen together with what they feel. This is especially true when soft tissue is involved; coordinating both is not always precise, which frequently requires removal and reinsertion of the tool, causing damage to the tissue and often failing to reach the treatment point inside the body with the necessary and optimal accuracy,” founder & board chair Harel Gadot said, according to the Globes Israel report.
The company reportedly recently won CE Mark approval in the European Union, and is hopeful for FDA clearance by the end of 2018.
