Waltham, Massachusetts-based Vicarious said the lab demonstrated sustained system performance and continued procedural workflow progression for its Vicarious Surgical System, a robotic surgery platform. With this milestone, the company said it remains on track for a design freeze by the end of 2026.
Vicarious designed its robot to increase the efficiency of surgical procedures. It aims to enhance freedom of movement, improve visualization in the surgical field and push the boundaries of minimally invasive robotic-assisted surgery with a single incision.
After several delays to its timelines, Vicarious continues to move forward with its robotic platform. In August 2025, the company said it would hold off on clinical trial initiation to further develop its robot. At that time, the company earmarked the end of 2026 for its design freeze, which remains the case. At the start of this year, the company successfully completed an in-vivo porcine lab for the robot. In March, it completed the initial integrated benchtop testing for its full suite of surgical instruments.
(Hear more from CEO Stephen From on the company’s plans for the robot in an episode of the DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast earlier this year.)
(Learn more about the surgical robotics space in our MassDevice Surgical Robotics Special Report. Download the report for free here.)
During its latest testing milestone, the Vicarious Surgical System operated fully draped for multiple hours. Chief Medical Officer Dr. Barry Greene, an abdominal surgeon, performed back-to-back intraperitoneal onlay mesh plus (IPOM+) and robotic transabdominal preperitoneal (rTAPP) ventral hernia repair worfklows.
The lab took place using the company’s integrated suite of instruments. That includes needle drivers, graspers, monopolar scissors and electrosurgical energy.
Vicarious said its lab marks an important progression beyond benchtop testing, extending validation into sustained procedural workflows. Testing demonstrated continued progress in runtime stability, visualization, instrument control and workflow execution. Following its anticipated design freeze, the company then plans future cadaveric and in-vivo studies as it advances development of its robot for ventral hernia repair and other abdominal procedures.
“Our recent synthetic lab represented another important step forward in the systematic de-risking of the Vicarious Surgical System. Demonstrating sustained operation under fully draped conditions while successfully completing increasingly complex procedural workflows using our integrated instrument suite reinforces our confidence in the progress of the platform and our path toward design freeze and future clinical readiness,” said CEO Stephen From.
