Convergence Medical’s ‘breakthrough’ surgical robot wins US development support

A Queensland MedTech start-up led by entrepreneur Chris Jeffery has impressed the US FDA, winning a place in its Breakthrough Devices Program.

Convergence Medical chief executive Dr Chris Jeffery.

A surgical robot developed by a Queensland medical technology start-up has won a place in a highly coveted US program to fast-track its commercialisation.

Convergence Medical, led by its 37-year-old entrepreneur Chris Jeffery, has developed the V01, an assistive medical robot which can provide a spare pair of hands and eyes to help perform arthroscopic surgery.

The V01, which is the first of its kind in the world according to Convergence, has impressed the US Food and Drug Administration, and won a place in its Breakthrough Devices Program, helping the start-up develop, build and scale the new robot.

Dr Jeffery said the V01 is specifically designed for arthroscopic surgery – which is keyhole minimal-invasive joint surgery.

The main four surgeries in that category are meniscal repair and ACL in the knee, and rotator cuff repair or labrum repair in the shoulder, Dr Jeffery said.

Australian start-up Convergence Medical has built a robotic surgeon.

The issue with the surgery was that it was quite labour intensive – typically carried out by one doctor and up to three healthcare workers – and there was lots of room for error.

In a typical surgery, doctors need to expand a joint by filling it with fluid which has been done by hanging saline about 1.5m to 1.8m above the joint, Dr Jeffery said.

“This is a problem because every time we move there’s leaking and whenever we need to shave anything away, the shaver sucks fluid away,” he said.

“To prevent the joint from collapsing, we have to run this fluid under higher pressures with no control. Those pressures can lead to swelling which in the elbow would lead to permanent disability and in the ACL it would be delayed return to function.”

However with the V01, the pace of fluid pressure was controlled intelligently and in turn was much safer.

Convergence Medical chief executive Dr Chris Jeffery.

“It can achieve clinically suitable environment at much lower impressions, in fact, nearly three times lower, and it can sustain them,” Dr Jeffery said.

The V01 can have either three or five arms which are able to hold surgical tools as well as up to two cameras to provide vision of the joint from the inside and out.

Dr Jeffery is well known in Queensland, and the former army officer has become an innovator in the “med-tech” field. Formally trained in electrical engineering and robotics, he developed a passion for medicine while on deployment with the ADF in Iraq and Afghanistan.

One of his earlier successes was a micro-screw, a 1.5mm screw which was smaller than the standard and allowed surgeons to perform more accurate operations on smaller bones.

The FDA recognised the potential for danger in arthroscopic surgeries and that “robots, if developed properly, could be very good and powerful solution”, Dr Jeffery said.

After entering the Breakthrough Devices Program next year, Convergence Medical is expected to be on path toward entering the market by late 2025.

Convergence Medical has raised $3m to date over two capital raises, and expects to open a third investment round in January next year.

Australian start-up Convergence Medical has built a robotic surgeon.

The start-up is backed by the Brisbane Economic Development Agency, whose chief executive, Anthony Ryan, said: “We understand how important it is for start-ups to access global markets, but the journey from ideation to launch can be complex.”

“Brisbane has a history of pioneering world-firsts in health and is fast establishing itself as a MedTech innovation hub. We have some of the brightest minds, leading health and research institutes, and world-class innovation emerging from homegrown global organisations headquartered in Brisbane and early-stage ventures alike.

“Brisbane is also one of the largest hospital and healthcare clusters in the southern hemisphere and home to Australia’s largest research facility, the Translational Research Institute, as well as MedTech pioneers like Vaxxas and Microba who are advancing a new frontier in healthcare.”