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is a pre-clinical medical device company specializing in the research, design and development of next generation robotic endoluminal
surgery devices targeting the minimally invasive surgery space. Microbot is primarily focused on leveraging its micro-robotic
technologies with the goal of improving surgical outcomes for patients.
current technological platforms, ViRobTM, CardioSertTM and TipCATTM, are comprised of proprietary
innovative technologies. Using the ViRob platform, Microbot is currently developing its first product candidate: the Self Cleaning
Shunt, or SCSTM, for the treatment of hydrocephalus and Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus, or NPH. Although the SCS utilizes
one of our platforms, we are focused on the development of a Multi Generation Pipeline Portfolio utilizing all three of our proprietary
has a patent portfolio of 30 issued/allowed patents and 18 patent applications pending worldwide.
ViRob is an autonomous crawling micro-robot which can be controlled remotely or within the body. Its miniature dimensions are
expected to allow it to navigate and crawl in different natural spaces within the human body, including blood vessels, the digestive
tract and the respiratory system as well as artificial spaces such as shunts, catheters, ports, etc. Its unique structure is expected
to give it the ability to move in tight spaces and curved passages as well as the ability to remain within the human body for
prolonged time. The SCS product was developed using the ViRob technology.
May 25, 2018, Microbot acquired a patent-protected technology from CardioSert Ltd., a privately-held medical device company based
in Israel. The CardioSert technology contemplates a combination of a guidewire and microcatheter, technologies that are broadly
used for surgery within a tubular organ or structure such as a blood vessel or duct. The CardioSert technology features a unique
guidewire delivery system with steering and stiffness control capabilities which when developed is expected to give the physician
the ability to control the tip curvature, to adjust tip load to varying degrees of stiffness in a gradually continuous manner.
The CardioSert technology was originally developed to support interventional cardiologists in crossing chronic total occlusions
(CTO) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) procedures and has the potential to be used in other spaces and applications,
such as peripheral intervention, and neurosurgery. CardioSert was part of a technological incubator supported by the Israel Innovation
Authorities (formerly known as the Office of the Chief Scientist, or OCS), and a device based on the technology has successfully
completed pre-clinical testing.
TipCAT is a disposable self-propelled locomotive device that is specially designed to advance in tubular anatomies. The TipCAT
is a mechanism comprising a series of interconnected balloons at the device's tip that provides the TipCAT with its forward
locomotion capability. The device can self-propel within natural tubular lumens such as the blood vessels, respiratory and the
urinary and GI tracts. A single channel of air/fluid supply sequentially inflates and deflates a series of balloons creating an
inchworm like forward motion. The TipCAT maintains a standard working channel for treatments. Unlike standard access devices such
as guidewires, catheters for vascular access and endoscopes, the TipCAT does not need to be pushed into the patient's lumen
using external pressure; rather, it will gently advance itself through the organ's anatomy. As a result, the TipCAT is designed
to be able to reach every part of the lumen under examination regardless of the topography, be less operator dependent, and greatly
reduce the likelihood of damage to lumen structure. The TipCAT thus offers functionality features equivalent to modern tubular
access devices, along with advantages associated with its physiologically adapted self-propelling mechanism, flexibility, and
is a medical condition in which there is an abnormal accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid, or CSF, in the brain that can cause
increased intracranial pressure. It is estimated that one in every 500 babies are born with hydrocephalus, and over 1,000,000
people in the United States currently live with hydrocephalus.
of hydrocephalus vary with age, disease progression and individual tolerance to the condition, but they can include convulsion,
tunnel vision, mental disability or dementia-like symptoms and even death. NPH is a type of hydrocephalus that usually occurs
in older adults. NPH is generally treated as distinct from other types of hydrocephalus because it develops slowly over time.
In NPH, the drainage of CSF is blocked gradually and the excess fluid builds up slowly. This slow accumulation means that the
fluid pressure may not be as high as in other types of hydrocephalus. It is estimated that more than 700,000 Americans have NPH,
but less than 20% receive an appropriate diagnosis.
is most often treated by the surgical insertion of a shunt system. The shunt system diverts the flow of CSF from the brain's
ventricles (or the lumbar subarachnoid space) to another part of the body where the fluid can be more readily absorbed. Hydrocephalus
shunt designs have changed little since their introduction in the 1950s. A shunt system typically consists of three parts: the
distal tubing or shunt (a flexible and sturdy plastic tube), the ventricular catheter (the proximal catheter), and a valve. The
end of the shunt system with the proximal catheter is placed in the ventricles (within the CSF) and the distal catheter is placed
in the site of the body where the CSF can be drained. A valve is located along the shunt to maintain and regulate the rate of
CSF flow. Current systems can be created from separate components or bought as complete units.
treatment of hydrocephalus with existing shunt systems often includes complications. For example, approximately 50% of shunts
used in the pediatric population fail within two years of placement and repeated neurosurgical operations are often required.
Ventricular catheter blockage, or occlusion, is by far the most frequent event that results in shunt failure. Shunt occlusion
occurs when there is a partial or complete blockage of the shunt that causes it to function intermittently or not at all. Such
a shunt blockage can be caused by the accumulation of blood cells, tissue, or bacteria in any part of the shunt system. In the
event of shunt occlusion, CSF begins to accumulate in the brain or lumbar region again and the symptoms of untreated hydrocephalus
can reappear until a shunt replacement surgery is performed.
several companies are active in the field of hydrocephalus treatment and the manufacturing of shunt systems and shunt components,
Microbot believes that the majority of those companies are focusing on the development of valves. The development of a "smart
shunt" - a shunt that could provide data to the physician on patient conditions and shunt function with sensor-based
controls, or correct the high failure rate of existing shunt systems - is for the most part at an academic and conceptual
level only. Reports of smart shunt technologies are typically focused on a subset of components with remaining factors left unspecified,
such as hardware, control algorithms or power management. Microbot does not believe that a smart shunt that can prevent functional
failures has been developed to date. Because of the limited innovation in this area, Microbot believes an opportunity exists to
provide patients suffering from hydrocephalus or NPH with a more effective instrument for treating their condition.
alternative, short-term solution to hydrocephalus is the implantation of an External Ventricular Drainage, or EVD, an implanted
device used in neurosurgery for the short-term treatment and monitoring of elevated intracranial pressure when the normal flow
of CSF inside the brain is obstructed. If after using an EVD, the underlying hydrocephalus does not eventually resolve, the EVD
may then be converted to a cerebral shunt, a fully internalized, long-term treatment for hydrocephalus.
are also used in other instances when the normal flow of CSF inside the brain is obstructed, such as a result of head trauma,
intracerebral hemorrhage, brain tumors and infection. The EVD serves to divert excess fluids from the brain and allows for the
monitoring of intracranial pressure. An EVD must be placed in a center with full neurosurgical capabilities because immediate
neurosurgical intervention may be needed if a complication of EVD placement, such as bleeding, is encountered. EVD is one of the
most commonly used and most important life-saving procedures in the neurologic ICU, with more than 200,000 neuro-intensive patients
requiring EVD insertions annually.
to shunts, EVDs are also prone to occlusion, mostly due to cellular debris, such as blood clots and/or tissue fragments. Studies
have shown that approximately 1-7% of EVDs require replacement secondary to occlusion. Current solutions for EVD occlusion include
irrigation and replacement, which we believe may be ineffective (in the case of irrigation) or costly (in the case of replacement)
and in either case, put the patient at risk of unintended side effects. Microbot believes that with its portfolio of technologies,
and its initial pre-clinical results, it is well-positioned to explore and expand its offerings as an alternative solution for
Invasive Endovascular Neurosurgery
Invasive Surgery, or MIS, refers to surgical procedures performed through tiny incisions instead of a single large opening. Because
the incisions are small, patients tend to have quicker recovery times and experience less trauma than with conventional surgery.
The global MIS market is expected to exceed $50 billion by 2019, with a CAGR of over 20% through 2023. MIS involves three major
category of devices: surgical, monitoring and visualization, and endoscopy. The market for surgical devices, including ablation,
electrosurgery and medical robotic systems, accounts for the largest share of revenue and is also expected to show the highest
a subset of MIS, endovascular neurosurgery refers to surgeries performed by using devices that pass through the blood vessels
to diagnose and treat neurological diseases and conditions such as stroke, arteriovenous malformations, aneurysms and atherosclerosis,
rather than using open surgery.
global neurovascular device market was valued at $1.62 billion in 2015 and is expected to reach a value of $2.92 billion by 2024,
growing at a CAGR of 6.5%. Increases in the geriatric population and a rise in the number of patients suffering from neurovascular
disorders, implementation of advanced technological platforms, and favorable reimbursement policies across established markets
are expected to drive this market's growth. On the other hand, the high cost of the endovascular devices and scarcity of
neurovascular surgeons may impede such growth.
is a devastating condition, affecting 33 million people worldwide every year. In the United States alone, there are nearly 800,000
instances of stroke yearly, with about three in four being first-time strokes. This number is expected to increase to one million
annually in 2021. Stroke is the fifth leading cause of death in the United States and is a leading cause of long-term disability,
with related care costs estimated at $70 billion annually.
thrombectomy has only been approved as a first-line treatment for ischemic stroke since 2016. Prior to such approval, chemical
thrombolysis using tissue plasminogen activators was the only first-line treatment available, limiting the therapeutic window
for ischemic stroke patients to as little as 3-4 hours from the onset of symptoms. With mechanical thrombectomy, treatment can