Read about manual and motorized devices for harvesting follicular units in an FUE hair transplant:
Neograft
A hand-held surgical device that extracts follicular units from the donor area and implants them in the recipient area via an air-pressure/suction-based system. The Neograft machine relies on manual control provided by a human operator in order to select and extract follicular unit grafts.
The device is applied to the scalp where it first separates the grafts from the surrounding donor tissue with a rotating sharp punch that is connected to a suction unit. Once the upper part of the graft is dissected by the punch, the suction pulls the graft out, separating it from the remaining tissue. Read about the Neograft.
SmartGraft
A suction-based system comprised of a hand-piece, touchscreen monitor, and follicular unit graft storage chamber. The main component of the system is a unit comprised of the touchscreen monitor and temperature controlled storage chamber. The unit also provides suction for the hand-piece, which connects via a tube. The touchscreen allows the surgeon to control and monitor the rotation speed of the punch, strength of suction, illumination of the scalp, and irrigation of the graft storage canisters. Read about the SmartGraft.
Atera FUE-100
The FUE-100 system utilizes a hand-piece with depth control and a unique saline injection system that the company claims maximizes the viability of follicular unit grafts. The hand-piece provides the surgeon with the option of using one of three different size harvesting punches (0.8mm, 0.95mm, and 1.05mm). Like the Neograft and SmartGraft systems, the Atera FUE-100 system uses a single-punch, suction technique. Read about the Atera FUE-100.
3-Step
A sharp punch instrument cuts the through the upper part of the skin. To avoid injury to follicles, a dull punch is then used to bluntly dissect (separate) the follicular unit grafts from the surrounding deeper dermis. The third step is simply the removal of the grafts from the scalp. Read about 3-Step FUE.
SAFE System
A single motorized punch accomplishes the first two steps described above. Rotating quickly, the punch initially cuts through the skin and then, as it passes more deeply, the tissue resistance slows the rotation of the instrument (essentially converting it into a dull punch). Read about the SAFE System.
RotoCore
The RotoCore punch tip rotates automatically when downward pressure is placed on the handle.
When the pressure is released, the punch rotates back to its initial position. This straightforward downward motion minimizes deviations from the coring path, as well as surgeon fatigue. Read about Rotocore.
