POSTED BY
Vic Bolton
In our latest Leader In The Spotlight interview, Liz spent time with Christoph Spuhler, CEO of AcuSurgical.
Founded in 2020, AcuSurgical's mission is creating the new standard of care in retinal surgery.
We love to ask this question because it is so insightful and actually a lot of people really like to know about how others in this industry ended up where they are today. So, what was your journey; where did your passion for medical devices / medical technology come from?
I initially started out in medical devices while pursuing my PhD in Medical Image Processing at ETH Zurich. I think the appeal came from the fact that it's a field that combines technical challenges and cutting-edge technology with a potential to have a significant impact on improving people’s health. My first job after my PhD was in a medical imaging company and I later changed to surgical robotics when I went to work for Medtech which is now part of Zimmer-Biomet.
The passion to help others is a common theme. It seems you came across Robotics almost by opportunity but then jumped at it and have since run with it. This year, has been pretty trying for everyone. Getting to the end goal; your vision as a team, can be a long and bumpy ride. On a day-to-day basis what motivates you and keeps you engaged?
If it was easy it would be boring! Honestly, I find it very motivating to solve hard challenges and it’s even more motivating to be part of a great team like we have at AcuSurgical that resolves these challenges on a daily basis.
I also always keep in mind and try to remind everyone as much as I can, that in the end it’s the well-being of patients that’s at stake. That’s why we’re here doing what we do.
That’s a great point to return to when things are hard, I agree, remembering the ‘why’ and the difference you will make is very grounding and powerful. So, why AcuSurgical? What is it that your company / team do that you find so motivating, or humbling or special?
Every member of our team is an expert in what they do, and it's amazing to see them doing things better than I ever could. The passion and dedication they bring to the job is amazing and it's very rewarding to be part of it.
And what is so special about your solution?
Often when we talk about our robot, surgeons understand the theory and the benefits it can bring, such as better precision, dexterity, ability to do new surgeries etc. But, what’s really special is when those surgeons first sit down to try the robot for themselves. It is so powerful to see their eyes light up as they immediately understand how this will change the way they do surgery, because it just gives them so much more control in their movements and catapults their abilities to a whole new level.
They usually start discussing and imagining right away all the things they could do with the robot that they haven’t even thought of doing before. That is so special, and I feel really humbled and privileged to witness it. I'm excited to be able to make the previously unimaginable, a reality.
What other plans and future are you working towards? What are your priorities?
Our robotic platform makes manual surgery digital, just as digital microscopes bring imaging from the analog domain to the digital domain. Once you’ve made that switch, it opens up a huge panel of new possibilities - integration with AI-based assistance, partial automation, remote surgery, close integration with other surgical devices. The possibilities are endless.
It sounds like it! I imagine those options may be prioritised as a result of user feedback. So, on that point, what feedback have you received to date?
Feedback has been extremely positive. I think most people accept that robotics will eventually come to every surgical specialty, and retinal surgery is an obvious target but it has been difficult to penetrate due to its need for very high precision. The greatest feedback we get is when people actually sit down and try our robot.
What opportunities do you see out there in the medical devices world to be more innovative in offering patients and surgeons more integration in the surgical suite?
The future of the surgical suite is definitely integration of all the different devices and technologies into one coherent system and an integrated workflow. That includes pre-operative and post-operative analyses. In the future, data from preoperative exams will be passed seamlessly to the surgical room and integrated in the workflow. In the surgical room, the different devices (imaging microscopes, lasers and other instruments, vitrectomy machines and robots) will communicate or be part of one single platform so that the workflow can be optimised and the surgeon can leverage all the technologies without getting overwhelmed.
That sounds such a wonderful and powerful environment for the clinical teams to operate in; to enable them to do their best with the most accurate and up to date real time information possible, will be groundbreaking for them and patients alike.
So, let’s imagine you’ve found a time capsule from the future, it’s from 2033...what do you think our market will look like/what might be different for patients & surgeons?
I think retinal surgery will experience a huge paradigm shift in the next ten years. People looking back to how surgery was done in 2023 will wonder at how limited the possibilities really were to treat a lot of patients with retinal disease. Today when you develop a macular hole or even AMD there’s a good chance you’ll experience a significant vision loss which is irreversible. In the future, we’ll have ways to go in and intervene at the tissue level to repair and reverse such vision loss. Gene and cell therapies will be part of the solution and so will robotics, because we need the precision to intervene on a much smaller scale than what surgeons can do today.
Thanks for all your time today Christoph. Many people looking at your career to date and reading this will value your advice. What advice would you give to someone who's looking to enter this space? Whether that's a fresh grad straight out of University or someone looking to transition their career?
Surgical robotics is a field with a bright future, and demand is only going to grow. It’s a good time to enter the space !
Finally, Christoph; our favourite question - what song would get you jigging on the dance floor?
Minor Swing by Django Reinhardt
If you want to learn more about AcuSurgical please contact Christoph directly and checkout their website here
