EndoControl's founders bet there are large market applications where surgeons will want to reach for a single-function, low-cost robot to lend a helping hand. EndoControl has developed the ViKY system, a motorized endoscope holder compatible with any endoscope, that responds to a surgeon's voice or foot command.
EndoControl SAS
Article preview from Start Up - July, 2010
France's EndoControl SAS is operating in one of the few medical device markets that's expected to enjoy double-digit growth rates over the coming years: robotic-assisted minimally invasive surgical systems. (See Exhibit 1.) High growth rates are largely based on the comprehensive platform of Intuitive Surgical Inc.'s da Vinci system, but EndoControl's founders bet that there are large market applications where surgeons will want to reach for a single-function, low-cost robot to lend a helping hand. EndoControl has developed the ViKY system, a motorized endoscope holder compatible with any endoscope, which responds to a surgeon's voice or foot command, and the company believes it will help increase endoscopic accuracy, avoid surgeon fatigue and realize cost-savings in the operating room.
EndoControl was founded in 2006 by CEO Clément Vidal, a biomedical researcher formerly with knee arthroscopy company Praxim SA, and Patrick Henri, EndoControl's head of business development, who has spent 25 years in the medical device industry at Praxim, Technomed International, Siemens Medical, GE Healthcare, MicroControl and ScienceExport. With €4.05 million in funding in two rounds from venture capital firms Vizille Capital Innovation, Sudinnova and Seventure, the company set up shop to commercialize ViKY, a motorized endoscope holder designed to make surgeons' jobs easier during minimally invasive surgeries, originally developed by The TIMC/IMAG Laboratory, a joint research venture of the CNRS (French National Center for Scientific Research) and the Université Joseph Fournier in Grenoble.
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Companies mentioned in this article:Companies mentioned in this article:
EndoControl SAS
Intuitive Surgical Inc.
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