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MRI is an indispensable tool for surgeons, although this technology certainly has its limitations. Take, for example, surgeons who use machines to guide their procedures. The current process entails placing the patient in a machine to obtain an image, before pulling them out to pass a needle one centimeter at a time. It’s a time-consuming and frankly inefficient use of resources.
Featuring the tagline “Creating a new chapter in minimally invasive surgery,” it is based in the Bay Area Movement for Democratic Change He believes the answer lies in robots. While robotics undoubtedly represents the future of surgery, they present their own challenges in this application. After all, traditional robots have many components that cannot operate inside an MRI machine.
The company participated in the Startup Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024.
MDC’s challenge was to create a robotic system that could operate on a patient inside an MRI machine without relying on electric motors, rare earth metals, and other elements that would inhibit the imaging machine’s operations.
The startup’s work is based on research conducted during founder and CEO Sam Frischman’s tenure at Johns Hopkins University and Stanford. Freshman describes the solution as “high rigidity, low-friction hydraulic transmissions and motors.” The system is powered by water and is attached to the outside of the MRI through a tube.
“Our system has a few differences,” Freshman tells TechCrunch. “One is the ability to have subtly controlled control directly by the doctor. They control the needle, whether it’s positioning it, advancing it, operating it — it’s like they’re holding it in their hand.
MDC specifically targets biopsies and resections in its initial offerings. The CEO says these less intrusive measures are just the beginning.
“It actually enables new capabilities beyond what is possible today,” says Frischmann. “This is where the digitization, the energy assistance, the guidance through AI and all the data we collect, it starts to add beyond human capabilities, even though the doctor is still completely in control and making all the decisions.”
MDC is a recent graduate of SOSV’s HAX Accelerator, and was showcased on stage today as part of Disrupt’s Startup Battlefield. The company has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funds.
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