An Australian medtech start-up has achieved a groundbreaking milestone in healthcare by completing the world’s first fully remote robotic surgical procedures. Remedy Robotics, founded by Perth-born cardiac surgeon David Bell, successfully conducted multiple neurointervention surgeries in Toronto, using robotic catheters controlled by surgeons from afar. This achievement represents a significant advancement in surgical robotics, a goal that has eluded the industry for nearly three decades.
The company, headquartered in San Francisco, is now collaborating with the Australian Stroke Alliance to bring this innovative technology to Australia. Plans are underway for trials that will enable stroke patients in Darwin and Alice Springs to receive remote treatment from specialists potentially located thousands of kilometres away. Bell articulated the vision, stating, “The idea is that Pete in Alice Springs or Lucy in Tennant Creek had the exact same outcome as whoever is at the Royal Melbourne.”
The N1 System, developed by Remedy Robotics, features custom-built catheters attached to a surgical robot, which is operated via proprietary software. This allows physicians to perform cardiovascular interventions from virtually any location with a reliable internet connection. Advanced machine learning technology facilitates the precise navigation of delicate catheters through the human brain, a task described by Bell as managing “really, really fine, floppy tools at such a long distance.”
Patients will still need to visit a hospital equipped with a catheter laboratory, which is commonly used for cardiac procedures. After a local doctor inserts a catheter into the groin artery, the remote specialist takes control of the robotic system to guide the catheter through blood vessels to the brain to eliminate clots.
Bell’s inspiration for this technology emerged during his MBA studies at Stanford University, where he was surrounded by engineers innovating in the field of autonomous vehicles. He reflected, “If you can teach a car to drive around the streets of San Francisco, surely you can teach a catheter to move through the human blood vessels, and in doing so, radically expand access to care.” This insight led him to seek out his co-founder, Jake Sganga, a PhD student in robotics, after persuading a professor to facilitate their introduction.
The remote operation of surgical robots has long been considered the industry’s holy grail. Market leader Intuitive Surgical began with similar ambitions, but technical challenges over nearly three decades hindered progress. Remedy Robotics has overcome these obstacles by creating a complete solution, incorporating both hardware and software that manages everything from latency to the streaming of medical images. The company holds 45 patents related to its system.
This breakthrough is particularly significant for stroke treatment. The endovascular thrombectomy procedure, which involves threading catheters through arteries to remove brain blood clots, is deemed the gold standard for stroke emergencies. Unfortunately, due to its complexity, it is typically available only at specialized hospitals in major cities. For the approximately 445,000 stroke survivors in Australia— a number expected to more than double by 2050— geographical barriers can be life-threatening. The economic burden of strokes is estimated to exceed $32 billion annually.
Professor Stephen Davis, co-chair of the Australian Stroke Alliance, emphasized the technology’s potential to fill a vital gap in care. Currently, stroke patients in Darwin must be transported 3,000 kilometres to Adelaide for treatment. He stated, “Remote indigenous communities virtually can’t access this modern treatment because of the time barrier. This new technique allows the doctor in Darwin to put the catheter into the groin artery, and then the remote expert can do the rest.”
The technology will undergo validation through trials led by Professor Bernard Yan from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and Professor Hal Rice in Queensland. Initial procedures will have on-site specialists available for support. “We believe it’s possible, but it requires high-quality research to validate the technique,” Davis explained. “In the first instance, we’ll be performing these studies with a back-up expert neurointerventionist at the rural centre, so that if the technique doesn’t work remotely, there’s someone on site who can do it.”
Remedy Robotics currently employs an 18-person team, 15 of whom are technical staff. The company is raising funds in the United States to pursue Food and Drug Administration approval for local use while simultaneously planning Australian trials for remote stroke treatment. Although Bell did not specify the funding target, he noted that the company is “relatively close to closing” the funding round. Backed by Blackbird Ventures, along with U.S. firm DCVC and Tony Fadell’s Build Collective, this milestone is seen as validation of the company’s ambitious vision.
“Remedy Robotics is pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in modern medicine,” said Michael Tolo, a partner at Blackbird Ventures. “The team’s ability to combine cutting-edge robotics, advanced machine learning, and real-time imaging to enable remote cardiovascular intervention is nothing short of transformative.”
The company has also published academic articles on remote robotic neurointervention in prestigious journals and serves as the exclusive robotic partner of Mission Thrombectomy, a global stroke initiative. Bell, who has eight years of medical experience, including cardiac surgery training in Sydney and air retrieval work across the South Pacific, shared his personal perspective on healthcare access. “What I find crazy is that we would tolerate that where someone lives should affect their access to healthcare,” he remarked.
While some may envision a future of fully autonomous surgery, Bell anticipates that “a doctor will be involved for a very long time to come, even if they’re just sitting back watching to ensure nothing goes wrong.” Feedback from patients who have undergone the world-first procedures has been overwhelmingly positive. “The response so far has been very, very good,” he stated. “I think patients see the upside of the technology.”
