Virtuoso Surgical Robot Helps Enable Innovative ARPA-H Project on Artificial Intelligence

Virtuoso Surgical, Inc., a Nashville based medical device company, is pleased to announce their role in a landmark, multi-institution award from the federal Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) program to advance Autonomy at a Less Invasive Scale in Surgery (ALISS) (https://arpa-h.gov/research-and-funding/mission-office-iso/awardees) and enable fully autonomous surgical procedures. The award provides up to $12 million in funding and is being led by Vanderbilt Engineering Professor and Virtuoso Surgical Co-founder and President, Robert J. Webster, III, Ph.D.

The award brings together robotics and artificial intelligence experts from Vanderbilt, Johns Hopkins University, University of Tennessee (Knoxville) and University of Utah. World-renowned expert robotic surgeons from Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and Johns Hopkins lead clinical development efforts in the project. The award supports placement of the Virtuoso Surgical System at three of the participating research sites, and all artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML)  development will take place using this platform. The project also creates a team of embedded AI/ML experts within Virtuoso Surgical to support the university research teams.

“Fully autonomous surgical robots will transform medicine,” Virtuoso Surgical President Robert Webster said. “Not only will they make routine procedures safer and more affordable, but they will also address the worldwide shortage of surgeons and expand global access to lifesaving surgeries.”

Virtuoso Surgical is a surgical robotics company co-founded by Webster and Duke Herrell, M.D., Professor of Urology and founder of VUMC’s Minimally Invasive Urologic Surgery and Robotics Programs, who now serves as Virtuoso’s CEO. The Virtuoso Surgical System serves as an ideal platform for development of autonomous surgery facilitated by artificial intelligence, machine-learning and computer vision.

The key to the team’s novel approach is demonstration-based learning. “By enabling robots to learn from, and be coached by, human surgeons, we will create brand new machine learning algorithms beyond anything that exists today,”  Webster said. “Surgeons will literally train robots just like they train residents and fellows today. The result will be systems that initially help surgeons be more accurate and efficient, and eventually fully automate surgical procedures.”

By initially having human surgeons teleoperate the Virtuoso Surgical System as the human performs surgery, the robot can “shadow” the human’s decision-making, learning more generalized skills. “Our algorithms are watching the commands the surgeon sends to the robot and what they were looking at through the robot’s camera at the time,” said Alan Kuntz, Ph.D., Assistant Professor at University of Utah, and one of the key leaders of the artificial intelligence algorithm development.

“By looking at the history of those commands, the algorithms can infer how what the surgeons did changed based on what they saw. The robot can then apply these learned strategies to new surgical decisions that it hasn’t encountered before. We will further enable the robot to understand its own uncertainty, knowing what it doesn’t know,” Kuntz elaborates, “so that it can ask a human surgeon for input, clarification or to take over when it is unsure of how to proceed. That’s a key building block for robust autonomy.”

Within the next three years, the research team plans to demonstrate a robotic surgical device capable of removing tumors from the trachea and prostate without the direct intervention of a surgeon. These will initially be demonstrated in simulated conditions and not on live patients. The team also foresees this research having future application to uterine fibroids, bladder tumors, spine procedures and brain cysts, among other clinical applications in the future.

“Creating a system that can learn from human surgeons — and continue to improve performance — will be a game changer,” Duke Herrell said. “Our vision is not to replace surgeons, but to vastly expand the work they do to improve patients’ lives and long-term health outcomes.”

The team includes advanced robotics, imaging and artificial intelligence researchers from many of the top surgical robotics and computer science labs in the U.S. with 14 PhDs, 22 post graduate researchers and 5 leading surgeon scientists forming the research team.

About Virtuoso Surgical

Virtuoso Surgical has developed a groundbreaking robotic surgery system that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. The Virtuoso Surgical system features a pair of instrument delivery arms made of concentric nitinol tubes that mimic a surgeon’s hand motions to offer unprecedented control and dexterity to a full range of endoscopic applications. The system uses patented technology developed by Virtuoso’s founders at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about Virtuoso Surgical, visit www.virtuososurgical.net. This device has not been approved by the FDA and is not for sale in the United States.

Robotic Surgery Pioneer Virtuoso Surgical Awarded $1.8 Million in SBIR Funding

Medical device company Virtuoso Surgical, Inc. has been awarded a $1.8 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) NIH grant to be received over the next two years. Virtuoso’s robotic surgery system enables a new scale of robotic tools and maneuvers in endoscopic surgery that are not possible using today’s instruments.

“We are honored to receive this SBIR Phase II grant as we move toward commercialization of our groundbreaking robotic surgical system,” said S. Duke Herrell, III, MD, FACS, CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Virtuoso Surgical. “The Virtuoso system gives surgeons their hands back, enabling them to use two ’hands’ to perform procedures deep within the body, at the tip of an endoscope, with unprecedented control and dexterity.”

“For this SBIR Phase II grant, Virtuoso will continue its research regarding the use of its patented robotic technology to improve bladder lesion removal,” Dr. Herrell said. “Bladder lesion removal often does not obtain key information such as depth of invasion or margins if the lesion is a cancer, and we know that outcomes can be improved for these surgeries and patients.”

“We look forward to continuing to collaborate in this research with world renowned simulation and education expert Ahmed Ghazi, MD, and his colleagues at the Johns Hopkins University Simulation Innovation Lab at the Brady Urological Institute,” Dr. Herrell said.

While Virtuoso Surgical’s initial clinical applications will likely be bladder lesions and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) tissue removal, the technology is a platform that will improve many if not all surgical procedures where tools are delivered through rigid endoscopes.

The Virtuoso Surgical system includes two robotically controlled, needle-sized manipulators working from the tip of a rigid endoscope that is less than half the diameter of a U.S. dime. The scope itself is far smaller than current robotic endoscope hardware, and the manipulators are 1mm in diameter. Equipped with a camera, the endoscope comes with an array of manipulators depending on the procedure, including a tissue grasper, retractor, tissue snare, laser aiming manipulator and electrosurgical tools.

In addition to Dr. Duke Herrell, the Virtuoso Surgical team includes Co-founder and President Robert J. Webster, III, PhD, who also founded the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) with Dr. Herrell. They developed the Virtuoso Surgical system with a design team helmed by COO, Co-founder and Lead Engineer Richard Hendrick, PhD. Pending regulatory approval, company executives anticipate first-in-human use in early 2024 followed by regulatory submission pursuant of FDA approval for sale in the United States.

The Virtuoso Surgical system has demonstrated feasibility in animal, cadaver and tissue model studies examining use in surgeries for bladder cancer, uterine fibroids (among other intrauterine procedures), enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia – BPH), central airway obstruction removal and endoscopic neurosurgery. The technology can provide dexterity in rigid endoscopic procedures, including in urology, neurosurgery, pulmonology, gynecology, orthopedics, thoracic surgery, otolaryngology (ENT) and other sub-specialties.

Virtuoso Surgical Resources

Videos of Robotic Surgery System in Action

Articles

About Virtuoso Surgical

Virtuoso Surgical has developed a groundbreaking robotic surgery system that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. The Virtuoso Surgical system features a pair of instrument delivery arms made of concentric nitinol tubes that mimic a surgeon’s hand motions to offer unprecedented control and dexterity to a full range of endoscopic applications. The system uses patented technology developed by Virtuoso’s founders at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about Virtuoso Surgical and the initial public offering of common stock, visit www.virtuososurgical.net and www.virtuososurgical.net/investors. This device has not yet been approved by the FDA and is not for sale in the United States.

 

 

Virtuoso Surgical Unveils Design of Groundbreaking Robotic Surgery System: System Resets Scale and Reimagines Future of Robotic Endoscopic Surgery

Nashville-based medical device company Virtuoso Surgical, Inc. has unveiled its revolutionary robotic surgery system. Virtuoso’s patented technology reimagines endoscopic surgery in scale, function and cost.

“Virtuoso gives surgeons their hands back, equipping them to lift tissue, apply tension and maintain traction – in tight spaces within the body,” said S. Duke Herrell, III, MD, FACS, CEO, Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer of Virtuoso Surgical. “These are groundbreaking maneuvers in endoscopic/endoluminal surgery that are not possible with today’s instruments.”

The unveiling of the product marks the end of the design stage for Virtuoso Surgical and progress in the regulatory phase. In September 2022, the company’s  first public offering of common stock became effective after review by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Virtuoso Surgical Co-Founder and President Robert J. Webster, III, PhD also co-founded the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE) with Dr. Duke Herrell. They developed the Virtuoso Surgical system with a design team helmed by COO and Lead Engineer Richard Hendrick, PhD. The system enables surgeons to use two hands to perform dexterous maneuvers deep within the body, at the tip of an endoscope. Company executives anticipate regulatory submission in 2024, pursuant of FDA approval for sale in the United States.

“Virtuoso Surgical was born to reimagine the possibilities of endoscopic surgery, and we are pleased to move closer to making this system widely available to U.S. physicians,” Robert J. Webster, III, PhD, said. “Easier to use, more nimble and more effective than existing instruments, it stands to drastically broaden the possibilities of rigid endoscopic surgery.”

The Virtuoso Surgical system includes two robotically controlled, needle-sized manipulators working from the tip of a rigid endoscope that is less than half the diameter of a U.S. dime. The scope itself is far smaller than current robotic endoscope hardware, and the manipulators are 1mm in diameter. Equipped with a camera, the endoscope comes with an array of manipulators depending on the procedure, including a grasper, spatula, snare, laser aiming manipulator and electrosurgical tools.

“Our team set out to bring the stability and dexterity of robotic surgery to the rigid endoscopy space, and we have achieved that with the Virtuoso Surgical system,” Richard Hendrick, PhD, said. “This innovation equips surgeons to operate as though their hands were inside the body, with the minimally invasive advantages of rigid endoscopy.”

The Virtuoso Surgical system has demonstrated feasibility in animal, cadaver and tissue model studies in surgeries for bladder cancer, uterine fibroids (among other intrauterine procedures), enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia – BPH), central airway obstruction removal and endoscopic neurosurgery.

The technology can provide dexterity in any procedure where tools are delivered through rigid endoscopes, including in urology, gynecology, neurosurgery, interventional pulmonology, orthopedics, thoracic surgery, ear, nose and throat (ENT) and other sub-specialties.

 

Virtuoso Surgical Resources

Videos of System in Action

Articles

 

About Virtuoso Surgical

Virtuoso Surgical has developed a groundbreaking robotic surgery system that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. The Virtuoso Surgical system features a pair of instrument delivery arms made of concentric nitinol tubes that mimic a surgeon’s hand motions to offer unprecedented control and dexterity to a full range of endoscopic applications. The system uses patented technology developed by Virtuoso’s founders at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about Virtuoso Surgical and the initial public offering of common stock, visit www.virtuososurgical.net and www.virtuososurgical.net/investors. This device has not yet been approved by the FDAand is not for sale in the United States.

Virtuoso Surgical Announces First Public Offering of Common Stock to Advance its Revolutionary Robotic System for Endoscopic Surgery

Virtuoso Surgical, Inc., a Nashville-based medical device company, announced today that its $20 million stock offering has become effective after review by the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Virtuoso Surgical has developed a robotic surgery system that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. Virtuoso uses patented technology developed by the Company’s founders at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Virtuoso Surgical’s offering is made under SEC Regulation A, Tier 2, which means that any U.S. person can invest in the Company. The offering is for the sale of common stock, and this is the first offering of the Company’s common stock to the public.

“Virtuoso Surgical was founded to make minimally invasive surgery more effective by providing surgeons with dexterous, accurate and cost-effective tools for endoscopic surgery,” stated Robert J. Webster, III, PhD, Co-Founder and President. “We are not aware of any technology that accomplishes the dexterity, precision and force of the Virtuoso Surgical device, at such a small diameter. It enables surgeons to use two hands to perform more accurate interventions deep in the body through endoscopes.”

Duke Herrell, III, MD, FACS, Co-Founder, Interim CEO and Chief Medical Officer of Virtuoso Surgical, added, “We are excited about the opportunity to sell our common stock to the public. We expect to complete the design of our system by the end of this year, and to conduct final testing of the system in 2023. The capital that we will raise through this offering of common stock will, we believe, propel our system through final design, testing and FDA approval for sale in the United States.”

Virtuoso Surgical’s team of internationally recognized clinical and engineering experts includes Dr. Webster and Dr. Herrell, along with Richard Hendrick, PhD, Chief Operating Officer. Drs. Webster and Herrell, along with others, co-founded the Vanderbilt Institute for Surgery and Engineering (VISE), and Dr. Hendrick has been the lead engineer for Virtuoso since it began operations in 2017.

The Virtuoso Surgical system has demonstrated feasibility in animal, cadaver and tissue model studies in surgeries for bladder cancer, uterine fibroids (among other intrauterine procedures), enlarged prostate (benign prostatic hyperplasia – BPH), central airway obstruction removal, and endoscopic neurosurgery.

The technology can provide dexterity in any procedures where tools are delivered through rigid endoscopes, including urology, gynecology, neurology, interventional pulmonology, orthopedics, thoracic surgery, ear, nose and throat (ENT) and other sub-specialties.

Virtuoso Surgical Resources

Videos of Several First Surgeries

Academic Publications

Articles

About Virtuoso Surgical

Virtuoso Surgical has developed a groundbreaking robotic surgery system that radically improves minimally invasive endoscopic surgery. The Virtuoso Surgical system features a pair of instrument delivery arms made of concentric nitinol tools that mimic a surgeon’s hands to offer unprecedented control and dexterity to a full range of endoscopic applications. The system uses patented technology developed by Virtuoso’s founders at Johns Hopkins University and Vanderbilt University with funding from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health. For additional information about Virtuoso Surgical and the initial public offering of common stock, visit www.virtuososurgical.net and www.virtuososurgical.net/investors.