Panda Surgical completes world’s first live-animal study in endoscopic neurosurgery with dexterity-enhancing handheld robotic platform
Paris, France — November 20, 2024 — Panda Surgical, a UCL-spinout introducing the first-ever dexterity-enhancing handheld robotic platform for endoscopic neurosurgery, announced today the completion of their first in-vivo preclinical study. The study, conducted at VERANEX PCS in Paris under the supervision of expert veterinary surgeon and Study Director Olivier Chevènement, saw Panda Surgical’s CMO, Dr. Hani Marcus, perform tissue manipulation and removal in live animal models. The procedure demonstrated the platform’s capabilities without any clinical complications, making it the first such achievement in endoscopic brain-surgery.
“We are incredibly proud of this milestone,” said Manios Dimitrakakis, CEO of Panda Surgical. “The successful completion of our first in-vivo study validates our system's technical capabilities, de-risks our commercialisation strategy, and reaffirms our mission to expand access to complex neurosurgical procedures.” Dr. Marcus, commenting on the system’s performance and use, said “The live-animal trials highlighted the robot's seamless integration into the operative workflow, demonstrating its ease-of-use, reliability, and safety—an encouraging step towards regulatory approval." Finally, Olivier Chevènement declared “I am impressed by the dexterity of these new robotic surgical tools and we can see a glimpse of the future of minimal invasive neurosurgery.”
The aim of the study was to evaluate the robotic system’s precision, control, and safety in performing complex minimally-invasive neurosurgical tasks in a real-world, live tissue environment. The valuable lessons learned will inform the further commercialisation of the robotic system, as well as the regulatory pathway both in the US and Europe.
About Panda Surgical
Panda Surgical, a University College London spinout, is developing the first ever handheld robotic platform for minimally invasive neurosurgery, offering surgeons enhanced dexterity and decision-support, making these complex operations safer, more effective, and more widely adopted.
About VERANEX
Veranex is a dedicated MedTech-focused outsourcing partner with an end-to-end, integrated platform of pre- and post-market product development and commercialization service. In Veranex PCS Paris, we are specialized in large animal preclinical study and our goal is to give the opportunity to companies to develop and validate their devices in a world-class environment in a fully equipped and dedicated platform.
