Robocath Completes First Robotic Coronary Angioplasties in Africa

Robocath, a company that designs, develops and commercializes cardiovascular robotic systems for the treatment of vascular diseases, has successfully completed six robotic coronary angioplasties with R-One, a first for the continent of Africa. The Percutaneous Coronary Interventions (PCI) were performed by Dr. Faizel Lorgat, an interventional cardiologist at the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, Cape Town, as part of a distribution agreement with Vertice MedTechGroup. These procedures will lead to the creation of a purpose-made register that will add to the company’s clinical database, whilst it continues with a parallel European study of 60 patients.

Dr. Faizel Lorgat is an experienced medical robotics practitioner. Having completed more than 1,500 robot-assisted electrophysiology procedures, he now plans to bring his expertise to bear for Robocath in the continuous improvement of R-One and subsequent generations of the device.

Lucien Goffart, CEO of Robocath, said, “Dr. Faizel Lorgat is a recognized interventional cardiologist who shares our vision of the future of interventional medicine. He was one of the first robotic operators worldwide in the vascular sector and we are delighted today to share with the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital team their satisfaction in completing this first for the continent of Africa.”

Philippe Bencteux, M.D., chairman and founder of Robocath, added, “We are delighted with the success of these first robotic procedures at the Netcare Christiaan Barnard Memorial Hospital, a model institution in the treatment of heart disease. This facility commemorates the surgeon who performed the world’s first heart transplant, in Cape Town. We are pleased to see its determined focus on innovation and excellence being reflected and continuing today with our robot.”
 
Dr. Lorgat said, “It is an honor to be the first to use R-One in a clinical setting in South Africa. Six interventions have been successfully completed since the installation of the system in the hospital. I am delighted to integrate R-One into my day-to-day practice. I have been following this project closely for several years, as my experience with robotics in electrophysiology has clearly shown me all the benefits that such devices can have for our profession and ultimately, for the patient.”
 
Founded in 2009 by Bencteux, Robocath designs, develops, and commercializes robotic solutions to treat cardiovascular diseases. As an active player in the evolving medical robotic industry, these solutions aim to make medical procedures safer thanks to reliable technologies, while complementing manual interventions. R-One is the first solution developed by Robocath. It uses a unique technology that optimizes the safety of robotic-assisted coronary angioplasty. This medical procedure consists of revascularizing the cardiac muscle by inserting one or more implants (stents) into the arteries that supply it with blood. Every 30 seconds, somewhere in the world, this type of procedure is performed.

R-One is designed to operate with precision and perform specific movements, creating better interventional conditions. Thanks to its open architecture, R-One is compatible with market-leading devices and cath labs. It received the CE marking in February 2019 and started its clinical application in September 2019. Based in Rouen, France, Robocath has more than 25 employees and is financially supported by regional investment funds (GO CAPITAL, NCI, Normandy participations), national investment funds (M Capital, Supernova Invest), by several business angels and financial institutions (Caisse d’épargne, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole) and Bpifrance.