Optiscan extends robotic arm with US medical imaging deal

Optiscan and United States-based Mayo Clinic have taken a joint step into the world of robotics in a bid to co-develop digital laser technology for use in robotic surgery, with an initial focus on breast cancer patients.

The collaboration is aimed at giving medical practitioners better real-time imaging during surgery to allow ground-breaking immediate precision treatment for patients. The two companies will combine different areas of expertise to develop the imaging system within a two-year period and Mayo has committed to taking a financial interest in Optiscan’s revolutionary technology.

The latter today confirmed it had signed a “Know-How” agreement with Mayo – the world’s biggest integrated, not-for-profit medical group practice, which has a mission aimed at turning medical research into earlier diagnoses and new cures. Experts from the two companies will be charged with developing Optiscan’s digital confocal laser-technology in the form of a robot-compatible endomicroscopic imaging system.

The agreement combines Optiscan’s expertise in endomicroscopic hardware and software development with Mayo’s robotic surgery know-how and history of patient care. A Know-How deal focuses on the mutual assignment and ownership of intellectual property (IP) rights between the parties involved, ensuring the clarity and protection of respective IP assets.

We’re excited to collaborate with Mayo Clinic to accelerate the development and clinical testing of our robotic imaging platform with the aim of fast-tracking the adoption of real-time digital pathology and image guided precision robotic surgery. This collaboration is built on a shared history of innovation and a laser focus on delivering the highest quality patient outcomes for better health care delivery.

Dr Farah also said the collaboration is part of Optiscan’s strategic focus on the US market and its plan to embed its technology as a key component of oncological surgery. The technology is being designed to to provide surgeons with real-time microscopic information to potentially reduce missed cancers and minimise repeat surgeries.

The Mayo Clinic is ranked No.1 across more specialty fields than any other US hospital and undertakes more than 141,000 surgical cases and 4000 robotic surgery cases a year. It plans to use any revenue it receives from the Optiscan deal to support its not-for-profit mission in patient care, education and research.

The robotic-assisted surgery market is experiencing significant growth and is expected to be driven further by technological advancements and increasing adoption of its use and favourable reimbursement policies.

The US robotic surgery service market was valued at US$1.8 billion (AU$2.72 billion) in 2022 and is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.3 per cent to reach an estimated US$6.4 billion (AU$9.7 billion) by 2030.

Optiscan and its renowned US partner can obviously see the tremendous growth potential that robotic surgery can offer across many various medical conditions and success in the collaboration would mean a win-win for them and patients worldwide.

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