Michael Barbella, Managing Editor09.15.23
Venus Concept Inc. has created a medical advisory board for AI.ME, its next generation robotic platform.
The company established the board to provide strategic input, guidance, and clinical recommendations for Venus Concept's emerging robotic technology, AI.ME, which is 510(k) cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for fractional skin resurfacing.
The medical advisory board is composed of six practicing physicians:
AI.ME is the first and only robotic system cleared by the FDA for fractional skin resurfacing. It uses machine vision and AI algorithms to target the skin in a precise, pre-planned, selective, and predictable manner. It conducts the treatment through a robotic arm using a smart array of rotating hollow punches, actuated through smart algorithm, to precisely core and excise micro skin-tissue fractions, triggering re-epithelization and collagen deposition.
"We are honored to convene this group of physicians to form the AI.ME medical advisory board," said Dr. Hemanth Varghese, president and chief innovation and business officer of Venus Concept. "We believe this group of experts is well positioned to guide us in realizing AI.ME's full clinical potential and ultimately helping us commercialize AI.ME in a way that transforms patient outcomes and physicians' approach to aesthetic procedures. We expect to begin engaging members of this group to start utilizing AI.ME in the clinical setting in the coming months. We look forward to sharing more exciting news, as we continue to develop and refine this technology in anticipation of commercial launch in the second half of fiscal year 2024."
Venus Concept is a global medical aesthetic technology leader with a product portfolio of minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic and hair restoration technologies and reach in more than 60 countries and 14 direct markets. Venus Concept’s product portfolio consists of aesthetic device platforms, including Venus Versa, Venus Legacy, Venus Velocity, Venus Fiore, Venus Viva, Venus Glow, Venus Bliss, Venus BlissMAX, Venus Epileve, Venus Viva MD and AI.ME. Venus Concept has been backed by healthcare industry growth equity investors including EW Healthcare Partners (formerly Essex Woodlands), HealthQuest Capital, Longitude Capital Management, Aperture Venture Partners, and Masters Special Situations.
The company established the board to provide strategic input, guidance, and clinical recommendations for Venus Concept's emerging robotic technology, AI.ME, which is 510(k) cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for fractional skin resurfacing.
The medical advisory board is composed of six practicing physicians:
- Glynis Ablon, M.D., FAAD. – Ablon is a board-certified dermatologist and cosmetic surgeon who is an associate clinical professor at UCLA, practicing at both UCLA and LCMH. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology, American Society for Laser Medicine and Surgery, and American Society for Dermatologic Surgery. Ablon is the owner and medical director of Ablon Skin Institute and Research Center, a boutique research center, actively performing more than 60 clinical trials.
- Dr. Macrene Alexiades, M.D., Ph.D. – Dr. Alexiades is a Fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology and American Society for Laser Medicine (ASLMS) and Surgery and a Goldman Circle Member. She has achieved double board certification in Dermatology in the European Union as well as the United States. Dr. Alexiades is also an associate clinical professor at Yale University and founder/director of the Dermatology & Laser Surgery Center of New York.
- Eric Bernstein, M.D., MSE – Bernstein is a dermatologist and researcher who has published extensively on the molecular basis of photoaging and the dermatologic uses of energy-based devices. He holds numerous U.S. and international patents. Bernstein is past president of the ASLMS, is a director for the ASDS, and is clinical professor of Dermatology in the Perelman School of medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and adjunct professor of Dermatology at Temple University School of Medicine.
- James Chao, M.D., FASC - Chao is board certified by the American Board of Plastic Surgery and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons. He is a member of the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, the American Society of Reconstructive Microsurgery and was previously president of the San Diego Plastic Surgery Society. Chao serves as plastic and hand surgeon for the San Diego Chargers professional football team and is the recipient of numerous prestigious state and national research awards. In addition, he holds multiple patents of novel devices for plastic and hand surgery.
- Mitchel Goldman, M.D. – Goldman is a past president of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery, the founder and past president of the American College of Phlebology, and voted the top U.S. cosmetic dermatologist by Newsweek in 2022 and 2023. He is director of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship Program (which he conceived in 2013) and has hospital affiliations with Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif.
- Gilly Munavalli M.D., MHS, FACMS – Munavalli serves as a clinical assistant professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine – Department of Dermatology and a Cosmetic Dermatologic Surgery Fellowship director for the ASDS. He is founder and owner of Dermatology, Laser, and Vein Specialists of the Carolinas in Charlotte, N.C., where has been in private practice for almost 20 years.
AI.ME is the first and only robotic system cleared by the FDA for fractional skin resurfacing. It uses machine vision and AI algorithms to target the skin in a precise, pre-planned, selective, and predictable manner. It conducts the treatment through a robotic arm using a smart array of rotating hollow punches, actuated through smart algorithm, to precisely core and excise micro skin-tissue fractions, triggering re-epithelization and collagen deposition.
"We are honored to convene this group of physicians to form the AI.ME medical advisory board," said Dr. Hemanth Varghese, president and chief innovation and business officer of Venus Concept. "We believe this group of experts is well positioned to guide us in realizing AI.ME's full clinical potential and ultimately helping us commercialize AI.ME in a way that transforms patient outcomes and physicians' approach to aesthetic procedures. We expect to begin engaging members of this group to start utilizing AI.ME in the clinical setting in the coming months. We look forward to sharing more exciting news, as we continue to develop and refine this technology in anticipation of commercial launch in the second half of fiscal year 2024."
Venus Concept is a global medical aesthetic technology leader with a product portfolio of minimally invasive and non-invasive medical aesthetic and hair restoration technologies and reach in more than 60 countries and 14 direct markets. Venus Concept’s product portfolio consists of aesthetic device platforms, including Venus Versa, Venus Legacy, Venus Velocity, Venus Fiore, Venus Viva, Venus Glow, Venus Bliss, Venus BlissMAX, Venus Epileve, Venus Viva MD and AI.ME. Venus Concept has been backed by healthcare industry growth equity investors including EW Healthcare Partners (formerly Essex Woodlands), HealthQuest Capital, Longitude Capital Management, Aperture Venture Partners, and Masters Special Situations.