EU OKs Mazor Robotics’ Patent

The European Patent Office has granted Israel-based Mazor Robotics Ltd. a patent for what the company calls a “miniature bone-mounted surgical robot.”

The newly granted patent includes claims for surgical robots, including the company’s flagship Renaissance product, to be mounted to a patient’s spine. According to the company, this ability maximizes the likelihood of accurate positioning of implants during surgical procedures even if patient movement occurs.

The company has already received patent approval for this product in the United States and Canada.

Renaissance is a surgical robotic guidance system that enables surgeons to conduct spine surgeries in an “accurate and secure manner,” according to the company. Mazor received U.S. Food and Drug Administration and CE Mark approval in Europe for the Renaissance system last summer.

“This patent is an important new addition to our global intellectual property portfolio and increases the value of our spine franchise,” said Ori Hadomi, resident and CEO of Mazor Robotics. “We believe this patent secures our unique surgical approach, as Mazor Robotics’ technology is the only system which is fixated to the patient’s anatomy, assuring the highest accuracy levels and reliability in spine surgeries which would be almost impossible to emulate otherwise.”

Renaissance—compared to the company’s original SpineAssist system, has a new design and human interface, as well as next-generation hardware and software. It also serves as a platform that will support future clinical applications, such as robotic-guided cranial surgeries.

The company reports that is systems have been successfully used in the placement of more than 12,000 implants in the United States and Europe.