AVRA Medical Robotics Inc., an emerging company that is building a fully autonomous medical robotic system through the use of new technologies combining artificial intelligence, machine learning and proprietary software, has appointed Dr. Vipul Patel to chair its Medical Advisory Board and Dr. Eytan Pollak to chair the Scientific Advisory Board, effective immediately.
 
Barry F. Cohen, chairman and CEO of the company, commented, “I am extremely pleased to have these two distinguished doctors join the AVRA team. Dr. Patel and Dr. Pollak are both world renowned figures in their respective industries; Dr. Patel is one of the most robotic-experienced medical professionals in the world and Dr. Pollak is one of the most highly regarded scientists with a deep knowledge and expertise in control systems, robotics and simulation, as well as artificial intelligence applications. I believe Dr. Patel and Dr. Pollak will bring a plethora of knowledge and experience to assist AVRA in our mission of commercializing a fully autonomous medical robotic system.”
 
Patel is the founder and medical director of the Florida Hospital Global Robotics Institute, founder and vice president of the Society of Robotic Surgery, and founder and Editor Emeritus of The Journal of Robotic Surgery. He is board certified by the American Urological Association and specializes in robotic surgery using the da Vinci Surgical System for prostate cancer. As of February 2018, he performed his 11,000th robotic-assisted prostatectomy and is now nearing his 13,000th procedure. The large volume of prostatectomies he has performed has enabled him to amass a large amount of statistical evidence regarding the efficacy of robotic techniques which has been used in developing and refining techniques. Patel credits the use of robotic assisted surgery with helping surgeons achieve better surgical outcomes with the "trifecta" of cancer control, continence and sexual function. In the course of his career, Patel has led and participated in studies that have resulted in developing improved outcomes for robotic surgery and urologic treatments.
 
Pollak earned his B.Sc. and M.Sc. from Technion-I.I.T. (Haifa, Israel) and his Ph.D. from Purdue University, West Lafayette, Ind. He has 30 years of experience in managing research and development programs, holds several patents, and has published papers in Control Systems, Robotics, Distributed Flight and Ground Simulations/Simulators, Embedded Systems, and Cyber Physical Systems. He served as an M&S Technology manager, IRAD technical director and principal investigator at Lockheed Martin. He is currently a research professor at the UCF School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, and he is also the director of Strategic Technologies at L3Harris Technologies Communications Link Simulation & Training.
 
AVRA Medical Robotics Inc. is modernizing the practice of surgery by developing a fully autonomous medical robotic system that “robotizes” a wide range of medical procedures currently being performed by human hands using surgical and non-surgical devices and instruments. AVRA is concentrating its research and development efforts to meet rising expectations of patients and practitioners alike for the precision, efficiencies and safety offered by robotics, artificial intelligence and proprietary software when combined with proven medical devices and surgical instruments. AVRA’s current focus is developing a treatment-independent precision guidance system, applicable to a variety of minimally and non-invasive procedures, to leverage the growing demand for practical medical robotic devices, with an initial focus on skin resurfacing aesthetic procedures.