Hair Transplant Robotics News

Bookmark this page for news and updates on robotic devices for use in Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplantation.

Dr. Bernstein spoke with Bloomberg’s Matt Miller about the future of hair transplantation in a segment called, “The Bald Economy: Surgical Solutions to Hair Loss.” Here is an excerpt from the segment:

Bloomberg’s Matt Miller: Riding the wave into the future happens to be one of the pioneers of FUE, Dr. Robert Bernstein.

Dr. Bernstein: “The robot now allows a mechanized system to do [follicular unit extraction] very, very quickly and very consistently, so that the human error in this part of the procedure is now gone.”

NY1, a New York City television channel, has featured Dr. Bernstein in a segment on robotic hair transplantation.

In the piece, Dr. Bernstein describes why having a computer-driven, image-guided robot is so helpful for hair transplantation. He also discusses the quality of follicular units extracted using the robot.

Q: I wanted to find out about the difference between what Dr. Bernstein does with his robotic system versus NeoGraft.

A: The ARTAS robotic system, used at Bernstein Medical, has robotic control, video imaging and uses a blunt dissection technique. This allows for very precise extraction of follicular units from the donor area with minimal transection. The Neograft machine for FUE is a manually operated machine which uses sharp edge dissection. Because it relies on manual controls rather than robotics, it is less accurate and the cutting tip causes more graft injury. The precision of the robot allows the grafts to be harvested with less trauma and will thus result in better growth. In my opinion, these differences are very significant.

The New York Times, once again, has recognized Dr. Bernstein’s pioneering hair restoration techniques. The NYT Fashion and Style section noted that he is, “the first hair transplant surgeon on the east coast,” to use the ARTAS robotic system for Follicular Unit Extraction.

Dr. Bernstein’s pioneering work in developing FUT and FUE hair transplant procedures has influenced hair restoration physicians across the globe. Recently, his use of the ARTAS System for robotic FUE has grabbed international attention, as he was featured in a Japanese magazine.

You don’t have to be interested in a hair transplant to appreciate the advanced technology in the ARTAS system for robotic FUE. That is why the technology and media website “All Things D” has featured the image-guided robot in an article titled, “All I Want for Christmas is a Robot Hair Transplant.”

We are pleased to announce that robotic FUE is now available at Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration. This is a major advance in FUE technology.

The ARTAS system for hair restoration allows us to more effectively isolate follicular unit grafts from the donor area of the scalp without causing damage to individual follicles, a problem that has been a limitation of manual FUE techniques. Many other important parts of the FUE procedure will still be performed by the physician and team. Read the full post for more details.

Q: How many different kinds of robotic devices are there?

A: There is only one, the robot called the ARTAS System for FUE, made by Restoration Robotics. The Neograft machine, occasionally confused with a robotic device, is actually a hand-held instrument that is not robotically controlled and lacks image-based tracking. It is, therefore, not capable of eliminating the operator error and variability of hand operated devices and does not decrease the damage to follicles inherent in manual techniques.

Dr. Bernstein is quoted extensively in an article on robotic hair transplantation in the online magazine American Health & Beauty.

In “ARTAS: A Faster and More Accurate Hair Transplant Using Robotics?” Dr. Bernstein explains the benefits of robotic FUE over traditional FUE hair transplant procedures. He describes how the new robotic device overcomes some important limitations of FUE when performed manually. To better understand the role of the new instrument, Dr. Bernstein simplifies the FUE procedure into four basic steps and discusses where the image-guided robotic system fits into this process.

Robert M. Bernstein, M.D., F.A.A.D., world-renowned pioneer of the Follicular Unit Transplantation (FUT) and Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplant techniques and founder of Bernstein Medical – Center for Hair Restoration, will become the first hair transplant surgeon on the East Coast to use the robotic ARTAS System for Hair Restoration. Procedures using the computer-driven, automated system will begin in November 2011 in his state-of-the-art New York City facility.

Read the press release on the Hair Transplant Blog.

Restoration Robotics, Inc. — based in Mountain View, CA — has developed a robotic system for follicular unit extraction (FUE), called the ARTAS^™ robotic system for hair restoration. The computerized device has received 510(k) approval from the Food and Drug Administration. Restoration Robotics is due to begin marketing the system for use in hair restoration clinics in the United States.

The FDA classifies the ARTAS robotic system for hair restoration as a “computer assisted hair harvesting system” and describes it as being used to identify and extract follicular units to aid the surgeon during hair transplant procedures.