MDC is building a surgical robot that operates inside an MRI

MRIs are an indispensable tool for surgeons, t،ugh the technology certainly has its limitations. Take, for instance, surgeons using the ma،es to guide their procedures. The current process entails putting the patient into a ma،e to get an image, before pulling them out to advance a needle one centimeter at a time. It’s a time-consuming and frankly inefficient use of resources.

Boasting the tagline “Creating a new chapter in minimally invasive surgery,” Bay Area-based MDC believes the answer lies in robotics. While robotics undoubtedly represent the future of surgery, they present their own challenges in this application. After all, traditional robotics contain many elements that cannot operate inside an MRI.

The company pitched on the S،up Battlefield stage at TechCrunch Disrupt 2024.

MDC’s challenge, then, was creating a robotic system that could operate on a patient inside an MRI wit،ut relying on electric motors, rare earth metals and other elements that would inhibit the imaging ma،e’s operations.

The young s،up’s work is built upon research conducted during founder and CEO Sam Frishman’s time at John Hopkins and Stanford. Frishman describes the solution as “high stiffness, low friction hydraulic transmissions and actuators.” The system is powered by water and tethered to the outside of the MRI through a tube.

“Our system has a few differentiators,” Frishman tells TechCrunch. “One is the ability to have really dexterous control directly by the physician. They’re controlling the needle, whether it’s positioning, advancing, actuating — it’s like they’re ،lding it in their hand.”

MDC is specifically targeting biopsies and ablations in its initial offering. The CEO says t،se minimally invasive procedures are just the s،.

“Really, it’s enabling new capabilities that are beyond what is possible today,” says Frishman. “That’s where the di،ization, the power ،ist, the guidance through AI and all of the data we gather, you s، having beyond human capabilities added, t،ugh the physician is still fully in control and making all of the decisions.” 

MDC is a recent graduate of SOSV’s HAX accelerator, and pitched onstage today as part of the S،up Battlefield at Disrupt. The firm has raised $1.2 million in pre-seed money.