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.

Dr. Duke Herrell Speaks at the 2024 World Congress of Endourology and UroTechnology (WCET) in Seoul, Korea

Dr. Duke Herrell, CEO / CMO Virtuoso Surgical Inc., spoke at the 2024 World Congress of Endourology and UroTechnology (WCET) in Seoul, Korea, August 16-18, 2024. Dr. Herrell was invited to speak as part of the Engineering in Urology Society plenary on Robotic Surgery which was focused on new robotic tools and platforms. Speakers from Medtronic, Intuitive Surgical, Cambridge Medical Robotics (CMR) and Agilis all spoke on the status of their platforms and potential advancements to urologic care that their technologies were aimed at improving. Dr. Herrell’s presentation on the Virtuoso technology was greeted with great excitement by many of the participating urologists from around the world.

Virtuoso Leadership Meets with FDA in Washington, DC

Multiple members of the Virtuoso Surgical leadership team traveled to Washington, DC, to meet face-to-face with FDA staff regarding Virtuoso’s recent pre-submission. Mark Pickrell, General Counsel, led this meeting for Virituoso Surgical, which was an opportunity to discuss the detailed bench, animal and clinical testing that will be completed to support upcoming FDA submissions. The Virtuoso team was very pleased with the meeting and has good visibility on our regulatory path moving forward.

Virtuoso Surgical to Attend the Hamlyn Symposium, June 26-27, 2024

Robert Webster, PhD (President/CSO), Richard Hendrick, PhD (COO/CTO), Ashley Couget (Engineer) and Duke Herrell, MD (CEO / CMO) will attended the Hamlyn Symposium, which is the world’s leading conference on medical robotics.

This annual symposium stands as the flagship event of the Hamlyn Centre for Robotic Surgery, at Imperial College London. It facilitates networking and the exchange of cutting-edge advancements in medical robotics among a thriving global community of international surgeons and engineers, fostering collaboration and knowledge-sharing. This prestigious gathering attracts world-leading scientists, engineers and clinical practitioners spanning a diverse spectrum of disciplines associated with medical robotics and surgery.

Virtuoso Surgical will be a sponsor for the meeting, and Webster and Dr. Herrell will serve on the organizing and review committee. Mr. Hendrick and Ms. Couget will participate in the industry area. The entire team will be involved in this informative conference, which discusses many of the most exciting developments in the science and engineering of medical robotics. Webster will be presentating on the development of concentric tube robotics and the progress of Virtuoso Surgical Inc. towards clinical realization and human use.

Dr. Duke Herrell to Present the Virtuoso Surgical Platform at the 2024 American Urologic Association Meeting in San Antonio, Texas

CEO Duke Herrell, MD will attend and discuss the Virtuoso Surgical platform and developments at the 2024 American Urologic Association meeting in San Antonio, Texas, May 3-6, 2024. The Annual Meeting, in its 119th year, is the largest gathering of urologists in the world, providing unparalleled access to groundbreaking research, new guidelines and the latest advances in urologic medicine.

Virtuoso is featured in the meeting with an update on development at the AUA Innovation Nexus and presentation at the Engineering in Urology segments of the meeting.

Professor Jeremy Teoh, Department of Urology, Chinese University of Hong Kong to Visit Virtuoso Surgical Headquarters

jeremy-teoh-headshotProfessor Jeremy Teoh of the Department of Urology at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), who is amongst the world leaders in research and development of en-bloc excision of bladder lesions and tumors, will visit Virtuoso Surgical headquarters in Nashville.

Teoh will discuss his seminal research on en-bloc excision and recently published multi-center randomized controlled trial showing statistically significant improvements in pathologic outcomes and a statistically significant reduction in bladder cancer recurrence rate at 1 year comparing current transurethral resection of bladder tumors (cTURBT) versus en-bloc excision.  Teoh performed multiple procedures in ex-vivo tissue models and was excited about the potential of Virtuoso to improve en-bloc performance and widen adoption.

Virtuoso Surgical Platform Presented at the Blue Skies Conference at the University of California, Irvine

Duke Herrell, MD, CEO presented as a keynote lecturer at the Global Blue Skies Conference at the University of California, Irvine. Dr. Herrell highlighted the development of the Virtuoso Surgical platform as an example of advanced medical technologies poised to enable improved patient care.

The conference was co-developed by Prof. Jaime Landman, Chair of Urology at UCI and cosponsored by the Royal College of Surgeons of Glasgow and the Samueli Center for Integrative Medicine at UC Irvine. The conference features global experts sharing cutting-edge information on innovations defining the future of healthcare. Blue Skies shares the best of advanced technology (AI, robotics, VR, OR of the future) with the best health and wellness-based practices (diet, mindfulness, sleep).

Dr. Duke Herrell Invited to UROtech24 in Vienna, Austria as Keynote Speaker on Potential of Virtuoso Surgical Platform

Duke Herrell, MD, CEO will be discussing the development and potential of the Virtuoso Surgical platform as an invited keynote speaker at UROtech24 meeting in Vienna, Austria, January 25-27, 2024.

UROtech is a joint meeting of the EAU Sections of Uro-Technology and Urolithiasis (ESUT and EULIS), in collaboration with the Robotic Section and Paediatric Working group (ERUS and EWPU). This is the second edition after its debut in Istanbul in May 2022.

Over 400 participants from 50 countries are expected in the Austrian capital over the coming three days, arriving for an update from leading experts in far-ranging topics covering endourology, imaging, stone prevention and treatment, laparoscopic and robotic surgery, paediatrics and much more that’s relevant to the practicing urologist. Next to live surgery and state-of-the-art lectures, nine abstract sessions are also taking place, reflecting the high number of quality abstracts received by the scientific committee, as well as the ongoing research into emerging technology.

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, M.D., 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

robot-side-viewSystem 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 FDA and is not for sale in the United States.