An incredible era has begun as neurosurgical devices, robotics and connectivity come together to expand access to life-saving stroke care.
The FDA approved the first clot-busting stroke drug in 1996 and only recently approved the second. In those three decades, medtech developers have created first-of-their-kind thrombectomy devices for faster and safer clot removal. But stroke remains a leading cause of death and disability globally because too many patients live far from these tools and the specialists who wield them.
Telesurgery can and will close that gap. In this issue of Medical Design & Outsourcing, we focus on the tech advances and innovators making it possible.
In our cover story, six device developers racing to launch telesurgical stroke systems make the case for why their tech and teams have what it takes to win. We’ve got more from two of those companies in this issue’s product design and regulatory departments.
In another feature, former Intuitive engineer and new Sovato CEO Brian Miller explains the plan to scale telesurgery more broadly and overcome the challenges facing its global adoption as his company partners with surgical robotics developers and the surgeons and hospitals that use them.
We’ve also got advice on robotics and AI from a digital leader at Johnson & Johnson MedTech’s DePuy Synthes, robotics updates from Stryker in orthopedics, Capstan Medical in structural heart, Vicarious Surgical in hernia repair, and researchers working on spinal cord repair, plus an exclusive MDO Contribution by Intuitive CEO Dave Rosa.
Finally, our last feature focuses on the largest challenger to Intuitive’s soft-tissue dominance, Medtronic’s Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system and how the world’s biggest device developer set out to offer surgeons an alternative.
Our new MassDevice Surgical Robotics Special Report has details about all of these surgical robotics developers and dozens more, including a market forecast and rankings by revenue and funding. And mark your calendar for the 2026 MDO Min-Vasive Medtech series Aug. 18-20, where I’ll host live webinar interviews with minimally invasive medical device engineers and R&D experts.
Beyond robotics, special thanks to Aptyx R&D Engineer Matt Navarro for offering his expanded polytetrafluoroethylene (ePTFE) expertise in this issue and for giving me an in-person materials processing demonstration earlier this year.
As always, I hope you enjoy this edition of Medical Design & Outsourcing. Thank you for reading.
– Jim Hammerand, Managing Editor
Medical Design & Outsourcing
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