A robotic system employing strong magnets to conduct minimally invasive and highly efficient surgeries successfully completed its inaugural international procedure—a gallbladder removal—at a public hospital in Chile this week, as reported by the company responsible for developing this innovative technology.

The MARS surgical platform at the Luis Tisne hospital in Santiago allows surgeons to “attach a small magnet to organs, like the liver, and use robotic arms with high powered magnets on the patient’s belly to manipulate organs out of the way,” according to Levita Magnetics, the California-based start-up that created robot.

The system also “gives the surgeon control of the camera, which allows for better visualization, it is much more stable. And in surgery, seeing is everything,” said Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, doctor and founder of Levita Magnetics, the California-based start-up that developed the MARS platform, Reuters reported.

After receiving approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September, the MARS platform conducted its inaugural commercial surgery at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

The recent successful international procedure in Chile reaffirms the robot’s potential to bring benefits to patients, surgeons, and healthcare systems by enhancing efficiency and boosting surgical throughput.

Written by B.C. Begley

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