Bernstein Medical - Center for Hair Restoration

Tag Archive: Robotic Recipient Site Creation

Dr. Bernstein Presents Advanced Robotic Hair Transplant Techniques at 2017 ARTAS Users Meeting

Dr. Bernstein closed the 2017 ARTAS Users Meeting with a discussion of five advanced techniques in robotic hair transplant procedures that he developed at Bernstein Medical. His presentation covered the benefits of pre-making recipient sites, long-hair FUE, tensioner placement, feathering edges in harvesting, and robotic graft selection. The “Hair Restoration Pearls” presentation included case studies, photographs, and videos demonstrating the techniques to the audience of hair restoration physicians. The two-day affair; which was held in Coronado, California; was a huge success, with over 260 attendees from around the world representing 204 robotic hair restoration practices.

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Posted by Updated 2018-07-09

How are Recipient Sites Programmed into the ARTAS Robot?

Q: How are specifications for recipient sites inputted into the ARTAS^® robot? — A.F., Queens, NY

A: At the outset of the procedure, the physician sits at a computer terminal that is connected to the ARTAS Robot and enters the specifications directly into the robot’s software. Variables programmed in this manner include: the number of recipient sites, density of sites, angle that the hair will extrude from the skin, depth of recipient sites, and the minimum distance away from existing hair follicles that a site can be created.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

How Does the ARTAS Robot Avoid Transection of Hair Follicles During Recipient Site Creation?

Q: How does the ARTAS System avoid damaging hair follicles in the balding area during recipient site creation? — R.K., Brooklyn, NY

A: The ARTAS robot’s optical guidance system enables it to accurately create recipient sites in areas of thinning hair without damaging existing hair follicles. During the recipient site creation process, the robot uses its advanced image-guided optical system to scan the surface of the skin, locate existing hair follicles in the recipient area, and then create recipient sites at a specified distance from these existing hairs.

The ARTAS robot carries out this process rapidly, accurately, and consistently according to the physician’s programmed specifications. Thanks to the microscopic precision of the image-guided technology, the robotic hair transplant system can avoid injury to follicles that can result when Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is performed using manual techniques.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

Dr. Bernstein on The Bald Truth to Discuss the Latest in Robotic Hair Transplants

Dr. Bernstein Discusses the Latest in Robotic Hair Transplant Surgery on The Bald Truth

Dr. Bernstein appeared as a guest on The Bald Truth, where he was interviewed by Spencer Kobren, the show’s host, about the ARTAS® Robotic System for FUE hair transplant surgery and the latest updates to the robotic system. He also discussed increasing demand for both FUE procedures and hair transplants, in general, around the world.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2016-03-10

Dr. Bernstein Presents “Pre-Made Recipient Incisions” at 2015 ISHRS Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago

Dr. Bernstein at ISHRS 2015 Annual Scientific Meeting

Small, simple modifications in the sequence of the major steps in a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) hair transplant procedure will be beneficial to healing and growth following the procedure, says renowned hair restoration surgeon Dr. Robert M. Bernstein. Presenting at the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgery (ISHRS) in Chicago, Illinois, Dr. Bernstein detailed how making recipient site incisions before harvesting follicular unit grafts can improve the outcome of an FUE procedure.

For years, it was standard operating procedure in an FUE hair transplant to first harvest follicular units, then create recipient sites in the balding areas and place the extracted units into these sites. This practice persisted despite the fact that hair restoration physicians had known for years that prolonged periods of time outside the body decreased survival of follicular unit grafts. With the widespread adoption of FUE, and the long time needed for the extraction phase of the procedure, Dr. Bernstein looked for ways to streamline the process.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2016-03-07

Why is Robotic Recipient Site Creation an Advantage?

Q: Why is using the robot to create recipient sites useful in a hair transplant? — S.K., Jersey City, NJ

A: The ARTAS® Robotic Hair Transplant system eliminates the inconsistencies inherent in creating large numbers of recipient sites by hand. The robot can create sites at a rate of up to 2,000 per hour. Although there is more set-up time compared to sites made manually, once the physician specifies the parameters such as punch depth, punch angle, and site direction, recipient site creation is precise and rapid.

One of the benefits of robotic site creation is that the distribution of grafts over a fixed area of the scalp can be exact. For example, if one wants to transplant 1,000 grafts evenly over 50cm2 of area, this can be done with great precision and with uniform site spacing. In addition, the physician can vary the densities in select regions of the scalp and the robot will adjust the densities in other areas so that the total number of sites remains the same.

Another benefit of the new technology is that the robot can be programmed to avoid existing hair and select which specific hair diameters to avoid. The robot is programmed to keep a specified distance from the existing hair to ensure that the resident follicles will not be damaged and that the distribution of new hair is even and natural. This computerized mechanism appears to be more accurate than what can be done by hand and, importantly, does not sacrifice speed in the process.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

How Does the ARTAS Robotic System Make Recipient Sites in a Hair Transplant?

Q: How do recipient sites get made in Robotic FUE? And how does the robot know where to create the sites? — K.K., Bergen County, NJ

A: In performing recipient site creation, the ARTAS Robotic Hair Transplant system automates another part of the hair transplant process that is repetitive and prone to human error. In robotic site creation, the physician first designs the hair restoration and then specifies the angle of hair elevation, hair direction, site depth, average density, and total number of the recipient site incisions. The robot then creates the sites according to these specifications.

During site creation, the robot automatically uses its image-guided technology to avoid hairs of a certain diameter (specified by the doctor). The robot creates sites at a minimum distance from hairs of the specified diameter (the distance is also specified by the physician) and will do so randomly throughout the areas where the hair is finer or the scalp is bald. With this important feature, the new distribution of sites can be made to complement the distribution of existing hair. Observation of the ARTAS System suggests that it performs recipient site creation with greater precision and consistency than can be accomplished manually.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

How Does the ARTAS System, or the Surgeon, Determine the Depth of the Incision, and Can it be Adjusted During Surgery?

Q: How does the ARTAS robot control the depth of the incision in Robotic FUE? — B.V., Old Greenwich, CT

A: The ARTAS robotic system is equipped with advanced sensors that determine the precise depth of the sharp and blunt needles used both in the graft harvesting step and for recipient site creation. The robot automatically adjusts to the precise depth needed for the non-traumatic extraction of the grafts. The tip of the punching mechanism contains depth markings so that the physician can visually override the punch when he wants to fine-tune its action. While monitoring the procedure in real time, if it is observed that the punches are too superficial or too deep, punch depth can be modified using the robot’s computer system.

The physician can also use the ARTAS system to precisely control the depth of recipient sites. As with harvesting, the robot automatically adjusts the depth based on parameters set by the physician and the doctor can then make further adjustments, in real-time, during the procedure.

Click here to read more about Robotic Hair Transplantation

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

Dr. Bernstein Presents Advances in Robotic Hair Transplants at ISHRS 2014

ISHRS 2014 - 22nd Annual Scientific Meeting - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Dr. Robert M. Bernstein presented the ARTAS Hair Studio™ digital hair transplant design software and robotic recipient site creation using the ARTAS® Robotic Hair Transplant system, each advances in key aspects of hair transplantation, at the International Society of Hair Restoration Surgeons (ISHRS) annual meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on Saturday, October 11th, 2014.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2015-08-04

What’s the Outlook on a Hair Transplant Robot Performing the Entire Procedure?

Q: I understand that in robotic hair transplant, a robot performs the extraction part of the FUE procedure. What’s the outlook on the robot doing more of the hair transplant procedure? — B.B., Greenwich, CT

A: Currently, the ARTAS® Robotic System is a technology for extracting grafts. This is the most difficult part of a follicular unit extraction procedure, but it is only one part.

There are two other major parts to the FUE procedure: one part is the creation of recipient sites (in our practice, we create the recipient sites first, so that once we harvest the grafts, we can immediately place them into the scalp), and the other part is graft placement.

Recipient site creation involves more than merely making holes in the recipient area.

It involves making decisions on hairline design, graft distribution, hair direction, recipient site size and depth. When done manually, the surgeon first designs the new hairline so that the hair transplant will look as natural as possible, particularly as the person ages. Next, the surgeon will demarcate the extent of the area to be transplanted and decide on the graft distribution (i.e., how much hair will be placed in each part of the scalp) and then prepare a “recipient site” on the part of the scalp that has lost hair. The surgeon will then manually create incisions in the recipient site into which the follicular units will be placed.

On February 8, 2014, Dr. Bernstein unveiled “recipient site” creation capabilities of the hair transplant robot. These new capabilities allow the doctor to import a hairline design and other markings that have been made on the patient’s scalp directly into the robot. The robot then maps the design onto a precise 3-D model of the patient’s head. The physician can then program the proper distribution, direction and depth of the future recipient sites and the robot then creates the sites according to the physician’s specifications.

Graft placement, the last step, is perhaps the most challenging to automate. Engineers are currently working to design and build the capacity to automate the placement of extracted follicular units into recipient site incisions. Done manually, it requires significant hand-eye coordination and a very slow learning curve. For the hair transplant robot, it will be a significant challenge with development taking several years or more.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2017-12-11

Press Release: Hair Restoration Pioneer Introduces Next Step in Robotic Hair Transplants

Dr. Bernstein introduced new technology that allows the ARTAS Robotic System to accomplish a critical step in hair transplant surgery, the creation of recipient sites. Presenting at the 2nd ARTAS User Group Meeting on February 7th and 8th, 2014, Dr. Bernstein previewed the recipient site creation technology that brings the robotic system one step closer to performing critical aspects of the labor-intensive, hair transplant procedure.

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Posted by Robert M. Bernstein M.D. Updated 2015-02-18

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