Glasgow firm claims a first for robot-assisted surgery
13 Aug 2025
Glasgow’s CardioPrecision says its technology has completed the first clinical cases of robotic aortic valve replacement (AVR) through a tiny incision in the neck.
Cardiac surgeon Dr. Marijan Koprivanac’s team at leading US heart hospital the Cleveland Clinic completed a series of world first robot-assisted transcervical AVR procedures on patients with the CoreVista Robot Enabling Platform,.
This followed a proof-of-concept AVATAR (Advanced Videoscopic Aortic surgery by Transcervical Approach using Robot-assistance) AVR procedure carried out last year in Chicago using human cadavers.
The transcervical approach aims to minimise risks associated with traditional open heart surgery and reduce patient pain and recovery time.
“Combining the artificial heart valve with this new surgical technology means patients should experience less pain and less time in the hospital following heart surgery. We believe that this may be one of the least invasive surgical heart valve replacement options available,” said Koprivanac.
CardioPrecision chief medical officer Fraser Sutherland explained: “The journey to realise our vision to enable heart surgery to be performed through a small incision in the neck began over a decade ago and is already delivering tangible patient benefits.”
CardioPrecision was originally founded as a spin out of the NHS through InnoScot Health.
