Pioneering surgery company Levita® Magnetics shares insights into how magnets, robotics, artificial intelligence, and augmented reality are transforming the landscape of abdominal surgery.
Traditional surgery using multiple incisions to open the body can be a hugely traumatic experience. Even though the procedure can be for life-saving reasons, the body still interprets the invasion as disturbing. Minimizing invasiveness using advanced new technology, Levita Magnetics is at the vanguard of AR and AI techniques that can transform the operation experience for both patients and surgeons.
Using the patented MARS® system (Magnetic Assisted Robotic Surgery), Levita Magnetics is demonstrating to hospitals across North and South America the efficiency, safety and efficacy of this new system. With seven years of research and trials before launching the manual magnet system, new robotics technology has been layered on top, with AI and AR to follow.
Setting Levita Magnetics apart from other medical technology firms is founder and CEO Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, who was a surgeon in Chile for a decade before moving to San Francisco to start a research team in minimally invasive procedures and magnets. His clinical background and unique perspective in both medicine and business mean that Levita Magnetics can provide much-needed improvements to the industry.
“MARS empowers the surgeon,” says Rodriguez-Navarro. “This tool also reduces pressure on overworked staff and under-resourced hospitals. The surgeon is given the perfect assistant as the robot doesn’t get tired. The Magnetic Surgery® technique uses fewer incisions, which means less pain and scarring for the patient and a smoother surgical experience for the doctor. Magnets are used to gently move organs out of the way for easy access to the site of operation.”
Explaining the technique further, Rodriguez-Navarro says, “Laparoscopic surgery involves making a hole and then creating movement through that hole with the instrument from outside. This can be invasive and damaging. The beauty of magnets means you can create internal movement without causing harm to the abdominal wall.”
“Dynamic magnetic positioning is the core technology and we have also integrated robotics so that one arm of the robot holds the camera and the other holds the magnet. The magnet inside responds to the powerful magnet outside, generating movement. Magnets are perfectly safe, as evidenced by clinical trials and the widespread use of MRI scans.”
In true entrepreneurial style, Rodriguez-Navarro was told by professors the idea was absurd when he first mentioned it. “There is always a resistance to new things,” he says. “The first surgeon to ever perform a laparoscopy was sued and charged with manslaughter. It takes time for new technology to become established in the medical field. The first professor who told me my magnet idea was stupid, later confided that he had thought laparoscopies were crazy when they first came along too.”
As with any disruptive industry developments, it takes time for people to catch on and retrain their thinking. Robotics is not new to surgery, with the Da Vinci Surgical System in common use. “This is a big and expensive machine,” Rodriguez-Navarro says. “It is great for very complex cases, but for everyday procedures there does not need to be this huge console with an expensive highly-trained team.”
“MARS is a lighter alternative that can handle day-to-day operations, which is actually about 90% of procedures,” he continues. “We complement the Da Vinci by offering a different skill set at a better value. For example, gallbladder surgery is the most frequent in the world. American hospitals use the Da Vinci but the rest of the world uses laparoscopies. So this is an area where MARS can step in and complete operations more efficiently for both the hospital, staff and patients.”
At first the magnets were moved by hand, before Levita Magnetics developed robotics technology for the magnet to be moved by the machine. The success of this technique has allowed cameras to be used too, with ‘endo robots’ achieving interior visuals. “Our goal is to keep incorporating new features and technologies,” says Rodriguez-Navarro.
This innovative vision is part of the company ethos that will lend itself to the success of Levita Magnetics going public, which is on the horizon. “We have a huge pipeline of new products based on artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and new tools based on magnets too,” says Rodriguez-Navarro. “We are taking each step as it comes but with a clear focus on clinical value. For example, we are working with augmented reality tools to give real-time information to the surgeon on multiple screens, which will increase the value of our robotic platform.”
Rodriguez-Navarro was the first to see the potential of using magnets in this way and he made the dream a reality. Creating an alternative to the Da Vinci at a fraction of the cost that is designed for same day discharge procedures, Rodriguez-Navarro has already launched a revolution in surgery and is full of potential for the future.
To find out more about how Magnetic Surgery is transforming abdominal surgery, check out Levita.com. You can also follow Levita Magnetics on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, X and YouTube.
