EndoControl's know-how in state-of-the-art surgical robotic technology has lead to the development of the ViKY system, the world's most compact assistant robot for minimally invasive surgery currently used worldwide by leading surgical teams.

The PERSEE teams will work to combine Cellvizio imaging with robotic technology so the surgeon can navigate into the abdomen via a single incision to gain important insight in real time for exploratory purposes.


"We believe the PERSEE project has the potential to deeply impact cancer treatment in France and the rest of the world," said Claude Pinault, OSEO's ISI program Manager. "The minimally invasive exploratory procedures that will be developed through this collaboration will help the right patients get the proper treatments in a timely manner. We also expect these innovations to help reduce the cost of cancer treatment since operating rooms and hospital teams will not be monopolized for unnecessary purposes."

OSEO-ISI will provide up to US$ 10.3 million to fund the project; the PERSEE partners will fund the remaining US$ 11.8 million.

"We're very pleased to be leading this collaboration, which brings together the fields of endomicroscopy, robotics, histology and surgery and which is made possible by the OSEO-ISI program," said Sacha Loiseau, president, CEO and founder of Mauna Kea Technologies. "We believe endomicroscopy has significant potential in the surgical space, similar to what we've already seen in gastroenterology and pulmonology."

About Cellvizio

Cellvizio, the world's smallest and most flexible microscope, is the first system designed to provide live images of internal human tissues at the cellular level during endoscopic procedures. This new method, known as probe-based Confocal Laser Endomicroscopy (pCLE), allows physicians to pinpoint and remove diseased tissue with endoscopic tools on the spot, or, in more serious cases, send the patient directly to surgery. This new, advanced imaging technique helps physicians to detect cancer more effectively so patients can be treated earlier and undergo fewer biopsies. Physicians and thought leaders at almost one hundred top medical institutions around the world have completed over
4,000 of these procedures and have published more than 35 peer-reviewed papers on the technology in major medical journals. Cellvizio, which delivers up to 12 microscopic images per second and can be used with almost any endoscope, has 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the European CE-Mark for use in the gastrointestinal and pulmonary tracts.

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