Royal Philips Electronics has bought a minority stake in the Natick based private company Corindus Vascular Robotics. Corindus is a startup company that makes an experimental robot that places stents, balloon catheters and coronary guidewires. The Dutch company hopes to collaborate with Corindus to use the minimally invasive robots in its on cardiology related products.
The financial terms of the deal and the exact nature of the stake were not disclosed. Steve Rusckowski, CEO for Philips Healthcare said in a press release that as part of their strategy Philips was committed to delivering integrated interventional solutions for image-guided minimally invasive procedures by working closely with hospitals and industrial partners in different application spaces.
David Handler, president and CEO of Corindus, said in a statement that while stents and X-ray machines have advanced in the past three decades, the procedural process itself has remained largely unchanged. He hopes that the new device from his company the CorPath 200 System will change that.
The doctor can sit in a cockpit and remotely control the stent placing robot using the system. Other advantages of the system would include reduced risk of exposure to radiation for the doctor as he sits in a lead lined cockpit. As well as improved visualization and minimal fatigue to the treating doctor.