Mazor Robotics

Mazor Robotics Ltd.

Type	Public
Traded as	(NASDAQ: MZOR), (TASE: MZOR)
Industry	Medical technology
Founded	2001
Founder	Moshe Shoham, Eli Zehavi
Headquarters	Caesarea, Israel
Key people	Ori Hadomi, CEO
Revenue	US$ 21.21 million (2014)
Website	mazorrobotics.com

Mazor Robotics, Ltd. (Hebrew: מזור רובוטיקה בע"מ) is a medical device company and manufacturer of a robotic guidance system for spine surgery.^[1]

Surgeons that utilize Mazor Robotics Renaissance generally specialize in orthopedic surgery or neurosurgery. Mazor Robotics US headquarters are located in Orlando, Florida^[2] with international offices in Caesarea, Israel and Münster, Germany.

Its flagship product, Renaissance, is cleared by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA)^[3] and CE-marked for both spine and brain surgery^[4][5]

The company has been listed on the Tel-Aviv Stock Exchange since 2007 and as of May 2013 has a dual listing on NASDAQ. As of September 2013, Mazor Robotics technology is installed in 54 hospitals (28 in the US alone) and has been used in more than 4,000 procedures worldwide.^[6]

History

The formation of the company started with research in surgical robotics at the Robotic Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at the Technion, Israel Institute of Technology, in Haifa, Israel in the 1990s. In 2001, the company was founded^[7] by Professor Moshe Shoham, and Eli Zehavi. Prof. Shoham is the Head of the Medical Robotics Laboratory of the Faculty of Mechanical Engineering at Technion and Mr. Zehavi was a former Vice President of Engineering at Elscint. During 2001-2002, the company was based in the Technion campus’s incubator offices T3 ~ Technion Technology Transfer which transfers innovative technology developed at Technion to commercialization for global markets. The company was originally incorporated under the name M.A.S.O.R. Surgical Technologies, then later changed its name to Mazor Surgical Technologies. In 2010, the company took its current name today - Mazor Robotics. Mazor Robotics very first product, SpineAssist, was approved by the FDA in 2004.^[8]

Renaissance Guidance System, Mazor's next generation product, was released commercially in 2011.^[9]

In 2003, Ori Hadomi, former CFO of Denex, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Mazor Robotics. Mr. Hadomi was also Founder and CEO of 7D Ltd. (motion tracker for medical applications), and Chairman of the Izmel Scientific committee (consortium for the image-guided industry).

The company raised US$7 million from several Venture Capital funds. The company then relocated to its current offices in the Caesarea Industrial Park in Caesarea, Israel.

In early 2004, Mazor Robotics received its first CE mark for its initial product, SpineAssist. With this important milestone for the company, SpineAssist became the first commercially available mechanical guidance system for spine surgery. The company began marketing SpineAssist in Europe, registering its first sale soon afterwards. Later in 2004, the company also received its first FDA clearance for SpineAssist and became the first FDA approved robotic system for spinal surgery.^[10] In June 2011, the company launched its current robotic device, Renaissance Guidance System, which replaced the former SpineAssist model.^[11] In Feb. 2014 Prof. Shoham was elected into the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) for contributions to robotic technology for image-guided surgery.^[12]

Technology

Professor Moshe Shoham invented the SmartAssist platform that was the basis for the company’s initial technology. With the company’s first product, SpineAssist, challenges included: matching of the pre-operative images to the intraoperative CT scan and customizing the technology for different spine applications, such as deformity and minimally-invasive degenerative repair.^[13]

Renaissance Guidance System

Renaissance is the Mazor Robotics next generation surgical guidance system with 1.5 mm accuracy (FDA 510(k) filing). Studies have also shown a reduction in the amount of fluoroscopy used, especially for minimally invasive surgeries (MIS).^[14] Other studies have also proven Renaissance impact in challenging spine surgery cases such as scoliosis and other complex spinal deformity cases.^[15]

References

1. Stuer, C (2011). "Robotic technology in spine surgery: current applications and future developments.". Acta Neurochir Suppl. 109: 241–5.
2. Abraham Aboraya (Nov 29, 2012). "It's official: Mazor Robotics chooses Orlando for U.S. HQ". Orlando Business Journal.
3. FDA 510(k): K113228 & 510(k): K120812
4. Gali Weinreb (6 June 11). "Mazor receives FDA, CE approval for new spinal surgery robot". Globes. Check date values in: |date= (help)
5. Gali Weinreb (16 July 12). "FDA approves Mazor robot for brain surgery.". Globes. Check date values in: |date= (help)
6. [: http://mazorrobotics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/09/MazorRobotics_InvestorPresentation_SNv4.pptx "Company Presentation to Investors"] Check |url= value (help).
7. "Israel High-Tech & Investment Report".
8. "FDA SUMMARY OF SAFETY AND EFFECTIVENESS" (PDF).
9. "Mazor Robotics Launches Renaissance™, the Next Generation of Its Highly Accurate Robotic Surgical Guidance Systems". Bloomberg.
10. "Robotic Surgery".
11. "Mazor Robotics Launches Renaissance™, the Next Generation of Its Highly Accurate Robotic Surgical Guidance Systems". Bloomberg.
12. "Mazor Robotics Congratulates Founder and CTO Professor Moshe Shoham on Election into National Academy of Engineering". Wall Street Journal Online.
13. Shoham, M (2003), Bone mounted miniature robot for surgical procedures: concept and clinical applications
14. Kantelhardt, SR (2011). "Perioperative course and accuracy of screw positioning in conventional, open robotic-guided and percutaneous robotic-guided, pedicle screw placement". Eur Spine J. doi:10.1007/s00586-011-1729-2.
15. DeVito, DP (2010). "Clinical acceptance and accuracy assessment of spinal implants guided with SpineAssist surgical robot: retrospective study". Spine. doi:10.1097/BRS.0b013e3181d323ab.