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Levita Magnetics secures $26 million to advance disruptive surgical robotic system

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Levita Magnetics, on a mission to provide patients with more access to better surgery, has closed its $26 million Series C financing, which will be used to support regulatory and near-term commercial efforts in the United States for its Magnetic-Assisted Robotic Surgery (MARS) platform.

The financing was led by a healthtech investment group managed by seasoned investor Evan Norton, with participation from MedTex Ventures, as well as Invermaster and Carao Ventures, amongst other returning investors. The company also announced the appointment of Maria Sainz as chairwoman to its board of directors.

The MARS platform is designed to deliver the clinical benefits of the company’s first commercial product, the Levita Magnetic Surgical System®, including less pain, faster recovery and fewer scars for patients. [Read more…] about Levita Magnetics secures $26 million to advance disruptive surgical robotic system

The big AMR fleet computing debate: Distributed vs centralized

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By Limor Schweitzer, CTO and founder, MOV.AI

A shift in mobile robot computing needs

Over the past year, we have seen the growing adoption of centralized computing in Autonomous Mobile Robot (AMR) fleets. In this article, we ask if this trend is the best approach, especially in advanced deployments with a large number of AMRs and dynamic, non-sterile environments.

Past generations of AMRs, or more accurately Automated Guided Vehicles (AGVs), operated in sterile environments, with physically marked fixed routes and simple, predefined tasks. The computing requirements were almost nonexistent. [Read more…] about The big AMR fleet computing debate: Distributed vs centralized

Robot performs laparoscopic surgery without guiding hand of a human

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By Catherine Graham, Johns Hopkins University

In four experiments on pig tissues, the robot excelled at suturing two ends of intestine – one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in abdominal surgery

A robot has performed laparoscopic surgery – also known as keyhole surgery or minimally invasive surgery – on the soft tissue of a pig without the guiding hand of a human.

The people responsible say this is “a significant step toward fully automated surgery on humans”.

Designed by a team of Johns Hopkins University researchers, the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, is described today in Science Robotics.

Senior author Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins’ Whiting School of Engineering, says: “Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. [Read more…] about Robot performs laparoscopic surgery without guiding hand of a human

‘Slopehelper’ robot ready to help out in vineyards and orchards

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A company called PeK Automotive has developed a robot it calls “Slopehelper” and says it is ready to help out in vineyards and orchards.

The autonomous agricultural electric robot Slopehelper is being developed and produced in the European Union.

Its creators say the solar-powered robot promises the “absolutely green future” of agriculture to vineyards and orchards at low cost, having made it possible to perform regular annual operations without a driver in fully autonomous mode. [Read more…] about ‘Slopehelper’ robot ready to help out in vineyards and orchards

Where to Exchange VIDT to BNB Safely and Fast?

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Any cryptocurrency can simply be held in an investment portfolio, waiting for its price to rise. But if you have a not very famous and not very expensive coin, you are not satisfied with the prospect of waiting for its price rise indefinitely, it makes sense to replace it with another asset.

For all financial transactions, security is of the utmost importance. The speed of the transaction is less critical, but the faster the exchange operation is performed, the less losses associated with changes in the exchange rate of a trading pair. [Read more…] about Where to Exchange VIDT to BNB Safely and Fast?

Medical Microinstruments’ Symani surgical system saves patient’s arm from amputation

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Medical Microinstruments, a robotics company specialising in microsurgery, says its Symani Surgical System was successfully used at Careggi University Hospital Florence by Professor Marco Innocenti, MD, and his team in a complex, post-traumatic limb reconstruction that saved a patient’s arm from amputation.

The case is the first enrolled patient in MMI’s post-market study.

Prof Innocenti, the head of reconstructive surgery and microsurgery at Careggi University Hospital, performed the procedure which involved a young adult who suffered a motorcycle accident. [Read more…] about Medical Microinstruments’ Symani surgical system saves patient’s arm from amputation

‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platform

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Levita Magnetics says “the first ever” robotic-assisted surgical procedures have been performed using the company’s newest system in development, the Levita Robotic Platform.

The first case was a reduced-incision laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) completed by Dr Ignacio Robles, a minimally invasive surgeon at Clínica INDISA in Santiago, as part of a current clinical study of the system in Chile.

The new robotic platform is intended to deliver the clinical benefits of the company’s first commercial product, the Levita Magnetic Surgical System, including less pain, faster recovery and fewer scars for patients. The platform is intended to improve visualization, maintain surgeon control of instruments, and increase hospital efficiency with fewer assistive personnel required to conduct the procedures. [Read more…] about ‘World’s first’ magnetic robotic-assisted surgeries performed with Levita Magnetics’ newest platform

Airbus unveils autonomous helicopter

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Aerospace giant Airbus has unveiled an autonomous helicopter.

The prototype of Airbus Helicopters’ VSR700 unmanned aerial system has performed its first free flight. The VSR700 performed a 10-minute flight at a drone test centre near Aix-en-Provence in the south of France.

The company says this is a “significant step” in the programme following the first flight in November 2019 when the prototype was tethered to comply with regulatory requirements. [Read more…] about Airbus unveils autonomous helicopter