First-of-its-kind procedure a breakthrough in expanding robotic capability to complex neurosurgical care

MMI (Medical Microinstruments, Inc.), a robotics company dedicated to increasing treatment options and improving clinical outcomes for patients with complex conditions, today announced the completion of a preclinical study that demonstrated the feasibility of the Symani® Surgical System in neurosurgical procedures. Adnan Siddiqui, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Chief Medical Officer of the Jacobs Institute and Vice Chair and Professor of Neurosurgery in the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, successfully repaired a blood vessel in the brain in an animal model using the Symani Surgical System, the first such robotic-assisted microsurgery demonstration in the brain.

“Dr. Siddiqui’s breakthrough demonstration showed the benefits of robotic precision and control when operating on brain tissue,” said Mark Toland, CEO of MMI. “The robotic platform allowed him to perform extremely delicate maneuvers deep in the skull cavity that would not have been possible with the human hand alone. The success of this procedure opens the possibility of expanding Symani’s reach into neurosurgery, a field of medicine that involves the most fragile anatomy and has yet to benefit from robotic-assisted microsurgical capabilities.”

The study aimed to both collect feedback on Symani from a highly experienced neurosurgeon and assess the feasibility of the platform as a tool to treat neurological conditions. It was performed at the Jacobs Institute, a nonprofit medical device innovation center located in Buffalo, N.Y., which aims to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies in vascular medicine.

“Symani offered added control that allowed me to access and repair a vein just under 1 millimeter in diameter, with clips spaced 4 millimeters apart,” said Dr. Siddiqui. “It required techniques that would be extraordinarily difficult for most micro-neurosurgeons to replicate without robotic assistance, using sutures so small they are barely visible to the naked eye. Based on this excellent initial experience, I have no doubt Symani could be highly effective during a wide range of complex neurosurgical procedures with the development of additional microsurgical tools. In fact, I believe it is ready for superficial temporal to middle cerebral artery bypass surgery today.”

The Symani Surgical System is designed to provide enhanced precision and control for the anastomosis and suturing of microscopic vessels with the thinnest available sutures. With the world’s smallest surgical robotic wrist, called NanoWrist®, Symani enables surgeons to replicate the natural movements of the human hand at the micro scale. It also features motion-scaling technology that reduces the hand’s scale of movement by as much as 20x, giving surgeons more freedom to operate on microscopic anatomy.

Surgeons have leveraged the Symani Surgical System in over 1,000 cases globally and more than two dozen publications highlight positive clinical outcomes. It is designed to help restore quality of life for patients, accelerate the number of surgeons able to push the boundaries of complex procedures for delicate anatomy, and enable hospitals to expand their open surgical programs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted De Novo Classification to the Symani Surgical System in April 2024, making it the only commercially available platform in the U.S. for reconstructive microsurgery. It is available for commercial use in Europe and parts of Asia Pacific.

To learn more about MMI and the Symani Surgical System, visit MMI’s website here: https://mmimicro.com.

About MMI

MMI (Medical Microinstruments, Inc.) is on a mission to advance robotic technology that pushes the limits of soft tissue open surgery and opens new opportunities for surgeons to restore quality of life for more patients with complex conditions. The company was founded in 2015 near Pisa, Italy, and its proprietary Symani® Surgical System combines the world’s smallest wristed microinstruments with tremor-reducing and motion-scaling technologies to address significant unmet patient needs across the globe. This first-of-its-kind surgical robotic platform for open, soft tissue micro-level surgery can help address microvascular repair and lymphatic repair. In Europe and APAC, it also addresses peripheral nerve repair. The Symani System is authorized for use in the U.S. by the FDA and is a CE Marked medical device in Europe. MMI is backed by global investors including Fidelity Management & Research Company, Andera Partners, BioStar, Deerfield Management, Fountain Healthcare Partners, Panakès Partners, RA Capital, Sambatech, and Wellington Partners.

About the Jacobs Institute

The Jacobs Institute is a non-profit organization whose mission is to accelerate the development of next-generation technologies for vascular and neurologic diseases through collisions of physicians, engineers, entrepreneurs, and industry. The JI’s vision is to improve the treatment of vascular and neurologic disease in Western New York and the world, while fostering local economic development. The JI fosters medical collaboration and innovation through partnerships with the University of Buffalo (UB), Kaleida Health, and industry to be a fitting tribute to the work and memory of Lawrence D. Jacobs, MD. Additionally, the JI’s i2R, or Idea to Reality Center, is taking ideas for vascular and neurologic medical devices and moving them through the proof-of-concept process. Finally, the JI also increases physician and industry knowledge of vascular and neurologic diseases through clinical education programs.

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