ForSight unveils robotic cataract surgery system

The first-of-its-kind robotic cataract procedure on a porcine eye was presented at the 2024 ASCRS Annual Meeting, by Dr David F. Chang, a renowned cataract surgeon and past ASCRS president, marking the debut of this technology at a professional conference in April.

During his Charles D. Kelman Innovator Lecture, Dr Chang discussed his experience using ForSight Robotics’ ORYOMtm Surgical Robotics Platform to perform a complete, remote robotic cataract procedure.

He presented a video of the procedure and discussed the future potential for this groundbreaking technology.

Dr Chang said: “This is the first time I’m showing a video of me operating on an animal eye, doing the entire procedure with robotic arms, while sitting at a workstation located 20 feet away from the eye. The robotic arms were precisely mirroring what my hands were doing.”

David F. Chang, M.D. is recognized as one of the world’s top cataract surgeons. He has pioneered, developed and taught many surgical strategies for complex and complicated cataract cases and has championed the need for innovative solutions to combat global cataract blindness and advance sustainability in ophthalmology.

Dr. Chang, a clinical professor at the University of California, San Francisco, ranked #5 in the 2023 “Power List” of the 100 most influential ophthalmologists as selected by The Ophthalmologist. Dr. Chang chairs the ForSight Robotics Clinical Advisory Board, and has published more than 160 papers worldwide.

He has been in private practice in Los Altos, California since 1984 and was ranked #3 in Newsweek’s list of the best United States ophthalmologists for both 2022 and 2023.

Dr Joseph Nathan, ForSight co-founder, president, and chief medical officer, says: “This was an exciting milestone for us – debuting a cataract procedure that has not yet been presented in a public conference forum.

“With the expertise and support of world-renowned cataract surgeons like Dr. Chang, we are seeking to transform the future of sight-saving eye surgery.”