From developing miniature surgical robotic systems to enabling minimally invasive procedures, Interventional Systems is on a mission to revolutionize surgical navigation and robotics. Leading the charge is CEO, Pedro Costa.
Interventional Systems was founded in 2010 by Dr. Michael Vogele, who served as CEO until 2023, and current CFO, Thomas Pfeifer. Before founding Interventional Systems, Dr. Vogele founded Medical Intelligence, where he pioneered radiotherapy couches used for positioning patients during treatments. This company was acquired by Elekta in 2005.
Following the acquisition, Dr. Vogele and Pfeifer identified significant gaps in the market for surgical navigation and robotics, focusing on creating a platform that was both effective and user-friendly. Pedro Costa explains, "Michael experimented with different types of tools, surgical navigation solutions, robotics, and eventually didn't like any of the solutions because these industrial arms are all too big, too large, too difficult to handle."
Driven by this frustration, Dr. Vogele went back to the drawing board. Costa elaborates, "He decided to design a solution from scratch, focusing on needle-type procedures and minimally invasive surgery. This was a departure from the typical robotic field dominated by large general surgery robots."
Interventional Systems was thus born out of a desire to provide more precise, less invasive surgical solutions. Costa shares, "Our vision is to allow every patient to be treated with miniaturized surgical robotics. We aimed to create a platform that was affordable, portable, and easy to use, without compromising on effectiveness." This approach has positioned Interventional Systems at the forefront of surgical robotics, bridging the gap between advanced technology and practical application in medical settings.
The current standard of care for many minimally invasive procedures often involves complex, high-cost robotic systems that can be cumbersome and difficult to operate. Traditional robotic arms used in surgery are large, heavy, and require significant investment in infrastructure and training. As a result, many hospitals and surgical centers find it challenging to adopt these technologies, limiting their accessibility and usage.
Pedro Costa explains, "As a company that wants to offer robotics, you have three options in reality. One is that you build something from scratch yourself, which takes decades and immense resources. The other option is buying an existing company, which is often prohibitively expensive. The third is to buy an industrial robotic arm, but you still need to invest heavily in developing the necessary software, regulatory compliance, and support infrastructure."
Interventional Systems is disrupting this landscape with its flagship product, the Micromate platform. Micromate is a compact, table-mounted robotic system, roughly the size of a shoebox, designed for percutaneous and minimally invasive procedures involving needle-type devices. "Our goal as a company is to help cross the adoption chasm of robotics," Costa states.
Interventional Systems sets itself apart by focusing on providing a platform that partners with other companies, allowing them to offer state-of-the-art surgical navigation and robotics without the prohibitive costs and complexities of developing such technologies in-house. "We see ourselves as a middleman between these companies and their own roadmap," Costa explains. "We offer them an FDA-cleared, CE-marked robotic solution."
The Micromate platform is CE-marked and FDA-cleared, intended for use with 2D or 3D imaging across various specialties. Costa elaborates, "You pick up the system, approximate it to the surgical site, the system will tell you when it's within reach, you press a button, and the robot will align to the trajectory, giving you a working channel that is precisely aligned with your trajectory."
Unlike traditional robotic systems, the Micromate is portable and affordable, making it accessible to a broader range of medical facilities. "It's a portable system; you can carry it between rooms and hospitals, bundle it with procedures over paper procedure models, which poises you to be successful in the new changing markets," says Costa.
Moreover, Micromate's user-friendly design reduces the need for extensive training and infrastructure investment. "The system does not advance tools automatically; you do it yourself. We just provide a very accurate working channel for you to deploy the instruments," Costa explains. This collaborative approach allows surgeons to maintain control while benefiting from the precision and stability of robotic assistance.
By addressing the high costs and complexities associated with traditional robotic systems, Interventional Systems is making advanced surgical robotics more accessible and practical. "What we offer is the possibility for customers to focus on selling and we do all the rest, with all the certifications, FDA clearance, and CE marking. We offer manufacturing, consulting services, regulatory R&D, and essentially act as their robotic department," Costa explains.
Interventional Systems has made significant strides since its inception. The company is fully commercial. "Our initial CE marking was in 2012, and our first FDA 510(k) clearance followed shortly after. We've done several projects to date with our partners," Costa shares. These partnerships include Medtronic for cranial neurosurgery and Alphatec Spine for spinal surgery. The company also collaborates with various centers of excellence across Europe and the US to ensure unbiased feedback and continuous improvement of their technology. "We are always commercial, but we are also very close to prototyping, always creating and validating new concepts," Costa mentions.
Looking ahead, Interventional Systems is actively raising a €15 million Series B round to support their ambitious goals. "We've been more or less bootstrapped for the last 13 years, but now we need to have more parallel projects to serve more markets as robotics adoption is growing exponentially," Costa states. The company aims to enhance the Micromate platform by integrating additional features and expanding its applications across various specialties. "We want to include additional degrees of freedom on our device, enabling us to enter the endoluminal and endovascular spaces," Costa reveals.
What brings Pedro Costa to LSI Europe ‘24 this September? "One of the reasons we go to LSI Europe is first to learn, second because it's probably the strongest place on earth where more brilliant minds get together in terms of Medtech, and third, to have some face time with investors and strategics," Costa emphasizes.
The surgical robotics market continues to be one of the fastest-growing segments within the wider medical technology market. According to LSI’s Market Analysis and Projections database, the surgical robotics market is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 11.6% from $7.9B in 2023 to $13.7B in 2028.
All subsegments within LSI’s analysis of the surgical robotics market show double-digit growth for laparoscopic, orthopedic, spine/neurosurgery, and emerging applications for robotic systems and consumables. The strong market growth is a reflection of current industry trends and is consistently featured in medical device news outlets. Surgical robotic systems are becoming more accessible, with alternative acquisition models available to ambulatory surgery centers and hospitals. Centers of care are further incentivized to acquire these systems in order to entice new surgeons and patients.
Pedro Costa has been selected to present at LSI Europe ‘24 this September 16th-20th in front of hundreds of global medical technology companies. Join us in welcoming Pedro to the event in Sintra, Portugal where he will share the latest updates on Interventional Systems’ technology, clinical data, and development.
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