Asensus Surgical: Bringing more augmented intelligence to procedures
The company formerly known as TransEnterix has raised about $111 million in public stock offerings so far this year as it seeks to evolve from a surgical robotics company to what Asensus’ CEO Anthony Fernando describes as a “digital surgery company.”The company recently received CE Mark approval for its Intelligent Surgical Unit, which adds AI-based capabilities to the company’s Senhance robotic surgery system.
The Intelligent Surgical Unit (ISU) enables machine vision capabilities on the Senhance surgical system, providing Senhance digital laparoscopic programs in Europe augmented intelligence capabilities in surgical settings, according to a news release. The FDA cleared the ISU in March 2020.
The ISU enables the camera to automatically move for a surgeon during a procedure, responding to commands and recognizing certain objects and locations in the surgical field.
Asensus has also experimented with robot leasing agreements to get Senhance into the hands of more surgeons. In announcing its name change, the company also introduced what it says is a new era of performance-guided surgery, a new category in which it seeks to digitize the interface between the surgeon and the patient to unlock clinical intelligence that may enable superior outcomes and potentially a new standard of surgery.