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CMR Surgical

CMR Surgical’s robotic system for surgery brings a new wave of technology in the medical world

The rate at which our technology is growing every day, it is difficult to predict what will happen after five years. How will the future look like? Will human labor be completely replaced by robots? AI and ML have transformed our life making unimaginable inventions in every aspect of life. Who could have imagined a decade earlier that we can make machines think like us and make them adapt our behavioral responses? With engineering making the greatest inventions and breaking its record every time, they are very versatile creators. On top of the list is the health industry that is highly benefited due to the inventions of smart devices and heavy equipment used in hospitals. So, some brilliant minds with knowledge in diverse fields came up with the idea of a robotic system to assist medical professionals to perform surgery. In 2014, five founders, namely, Martin Frost, Luke Hares, Keith Marshall, Paul Roberts, and Mark Slack founded CMR Surgical.

CMR Surgical is based on Cambridge and is famous for its robotic surgical system Versius. The company is founded with a vision to bring a robotic revolution in surgery. According to the founders, it would make a dramatic effect in the health industry if they can be assisted in surgeries by the robotic system. But, they also need to keep in mind a cost-effective versatile system that can prove advantageous to millions of common people in need. Let’s have a look at the success of CMR Surgical.

About the Founders of CMR Surgical

Martin Frost went to the Manchester Grammar School followed by the University of Cambridge. He has a great and rich experience in the professional world. Started as an Audit Senior in 1985 he became the Director of Chord Capital in 2005. He was also the CEO of Sagentia for a few years, co-founder of RedCloud Technology Limited, etc. Currently, he is associated with Peek Vision and CMR Surgical (Director).

Martin Frost
Image Source: businessweekly.co.uk

Luke Hares graduated from Cambridge in 1997. Before co-founding CMR Surgical he was a Senior Consultant at Sagentia.

Keith Marshall went to the University of Hertfordshire and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Aerospace Engineering. He worked with Nokia Networks for almost a year followed by PML Flightlink, Xerox, and Sagentia. Currently, he is the Engineering Director of CMR Surgical.

Before co-founding CMR Surgical, Paul Roberts had ten years of experience in product and system development. He worked with Science Group PIc and built many complex medical devices. He is the Chief Customer Success Officer at CMR Surgical.  

Mark Slack is currently the Chief Medical Officer of CMR Surgical. He has a very rich medical background. Mark went to the College of Medicine of South Africa and he is a consultant gynecologist.

Versius Robotic System

Experts and medical professionals from around the world have given positive feedback about Versius. Versius is not like any other robotic system we have come across before. Versius provides maximum flexibility as its engineering allows both the arms to move effortlessly. This helps to save a lot of time and increases the efficiency within the OR suite. Versius is also designed perfectly with a footprint of 38cmX38cm. It doesn’t take up a lot of space and it is also transportable. Versius has ports and provides the freedom of the port placement as well. It automatically chooses a working position that provides the least amount of fatigue for the surgeons.

Apart from many cutting-edge features, the cost is a very essential factor. CMR Surgical claims that Versius can be afforded by who all are in need. It also provides a robotics programme for a fixed annual cost.  

A billion-dollar company

Last year, after the Series C funding of CMR Surgical the company hit a valuation of £1 billion. The last funding round where the company raised £195 million was the largest funding raised in Europe’s medical sector. Apart from launching Versius in the UK, clinical trials were carried out elsewhere in Europe and India. The product, Versius has three active arms during operation. The best part of this robotic system is they can not only be transformed from one O.T to another but also between hospitals.

The main investor for CMR Surgical is Cambridge Innovation Capital which raised £309 million for the company. Some of the other investors also include Escala Capital Investment, Vestland Invest, Watrium, etc.

India and CMR Surgical

In October 2019, India became the first country in the world to install Versius robotic system. Under the leadership of Dr. Shailesh Puntambekar in Galaxy Core Hospital, Pune, Versius successfully performed many surgical procedures which include mainly laparoscopy, myomectomies, and hysterectomies. Dr. Shailesh said that its compactness and cost-effectiveness will help meeting the surgical demand in India.

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