Noah Medical is reporting the first use of its Galaxy System, a robotic bronchoscopy platform in the United States. The procedure was performed at the University of Chicago Medicine and comes about two months after Noah won FDA clearance for the platform.

Noah Medical said the system and its accessories are intended to provide bronchoscopic visualization of and access to patient airways for diagnostic and therapeutic procedures.

Most potentially cancerous lesions are in the outer third of the lung, which is more difficult for doctors to reach for biopsy, the company noted, and current technologies are limited in the ability to both reach and then precisely target these suspect lesions.

“We designed the Galaxy System in collaboration with physicians to provide unique clinical value to patients and improved procedural efficiency,” Jian Zhang, PhD, Noah Medical founder, and CEO said in a news release. “We are thrilled to introduce the platform at UChicago Medicine, a pioneer in using life-saving technologies to fight lung cancer.”

Getting Behind a Growing Market Segment

The surgical robotics market size was valued at $4.4 billion in 2022 and is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 18% from 2023 to 2030, according to a report from GrandViewResearch.com.

Growth is fueled by the shortage of physicians and surgeons in healthcare and the increasing adoption of automated instruments, according to the report.

A huge spotlight was placed on the surgical robotics space earlier this week, when CNBC’s Jim Cramer said medical device companies are in an “emerging bull market.”

Cramer highlighted Intuitive Surgical, the da vinci surgical robotics system. He noted the Sunnyvale, CA-based company had strong earnings increasing worldwide earnings year-over-year by 26%.

Other recent advancements in the space include Vicarious Surgical noting it was on track to bring the submission of its surgical robotic system to FDA by the end of next year. The Waltham, MA-based company is developing a robotic system that will be used to treat ventral hernias.

Vicarious did struggle a bit at the beginning of the year – trimming 14% of its workforce to extend its cash runway ahead of FDA submission.