Today, we are excited to announce the $8M seed round of 4D Surgical which we invested in alongside our good friends at Humba Ventures, Also Capital, Julian Capital, Mythos Ventures, and others.
Robotics and live vision are making surgeries less demanding: next generation surgical robotics platforms will use live visual feedback from advanced medical imaging tools. MRI is our most advanced medical imaging tool today. It’s non-invasive with the widest range of tissue contrast. With that said, it has the potential to be the best vision for robotic guidance.
Imagine this. A robot operating inside the MRI during surgery can unlock live, 3D visual feedback. This can enable more efficient and precise medical procedures, improving outcomes for millions of patients. It sounds great – but it’s not possible today because MRI and traditional robots are not compatible. Why? Traditional robotic motors contain magnetic components and would become flying projectiles if brought near MRI’s strong magnetic field.
This is where 4D Surgical comes in. They’ve built a first-of-its-kind robotic arm system working inside of an MRI. They’re starting with stereotactic brain surgery (surgeon-assist treatment platform with MRI feedback). Using a robot with MRI feedback enables surgeons to work with greater efficiency and precision—allowing them to perform more procedures each day without compromising safety or quality. And the plans are to eventually expand into more advanced brain applications like therapeutics and to other organs.
We’re inspired by the mission: combining our most advanced medical imaging tool (MRI) with robotics to create a surgical paradigm that is safer and delivers better outcomes. It also fits squarely within our thesis—focusing on tasks that humans can’t do at scale or sustain over extended periods of time.
Just as important, we believe in the people behind the vision. Lorne Hofstetter, MD, PhD, brings deep experience in the neurosurgical operating room and developed and built medical imaging software for MRI-guided interventions at GE.
We’re excited to back this mission—and proud to partner with this team on the journey ahead.