{"id":525,"date":"2026-03-22T20:39:25","date_gmt":"2026-03-22T20:39:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/?p=525"},"modified":"2026-03-22T21:06:32","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T21:06:32","slug":"v-luca-from-first-surgery-to-a-new-era-in-retinal-precision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/2026\/03\/22\/v-luca-from-first-surgery-to-a-new-era-in-retinal-precision\/","title":{"rendered":"V- LUCA\u00ae: From First Surgery to a New Era in Retinal Precision"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p id=\"viewer-nvy36272\">Just over a year ago, LUCA\u00ae entered the operating room for the very first time. In February 2024, at UZ Ghent in Gent, Belgium, a historic milestone was reached: seven successful vitrectomy surgeries were performed using the world&#8217;s first bi-manual robot for the retina \u2014 with zero device-related adverse events. <em>(More on that in<\/em><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.acusurgical.com\/post\/iv-making-history-together-behind-luca-s-first-human-surgery\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><u>&nbsp;<\/u><\/em><\/a><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.acusurgical.com\/post\/iv-making-history-together-behind-luca-s-first-human-surgery\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><em><u>our previous article<\/u><\/em><\/a><em>.)<\/em>&#8221;&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-d7624282\">But for the AcuSurgical team, this wasn\u2019t the finish line. It was the starting point.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-jhj54284\">The First-in-Human (FIH) study triggered a continuous cycle of testing, refining, and validation. Today, LUCA\u00ae is more precise, better controlled and more intuitive, and already demonstrates superiority in doing complex tasks over traditional manual surgery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-40bob286\"><strong>A Strong Clinical Foundation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-nrxe4288\">The FIH study conducted at UZ Ghent demonstrated:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>the robot\u2019s safety in real-world conditions: no device-related events and excellent stability throughout the procedures,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>its compatibility with standard surgical workflows: smooth integration into the OR without disrupting other staff,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>the quality of its motion under an operating microscope: ultra-stable, fluid, and responsive actions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-vzn6j300\">\u201c<em>We observed outstanding precision and stability, with impressive gestural comfort.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;\u2014 Dr. Fanny Nerinckx, Vitreoretinal Surgeon, UZ Ghent<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-0fj8b304\"><strong>A Leap Forward<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-fy6qh306\">Since the FIH, LUCA\u00ae has continued to evolve. Dr. Nerinckx returned to the wetlab to push its limits further \u2014 this time testing the system on advanced tasks: membrane peeling and subretinal injections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-zyfik308\">These are among the most demanding procedures in retinal surgery. Membrane peeling, for instance, involves gripping and lifting transparent, micron-thin structures without damaging the fragile retina beneath. Precision, stability, and control are paramount.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-c15oq310\">These tests confirmed it: LUCA\u00ae can now support such procedures with a level of fidelity and ease that surpasses manual techniques in some scenarios.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-nltij312\">\u201c<em>Today, we crossed a threshold. Version 1.1 is ready. And the teams are already working on V1.2 which will offer the use of additional instruments and new digital features<\/em>.\u201d&nbsp;\u2014 Christoph Spuhler, CTO Acusurgical<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-79gdw316\"><strong>Scaling Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-o7uhh1205\">The FIH wasn\u2019t just a technical milestone \u2014 it\u2019s now shaping AcuSurgical\u2019s entire strategy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-55afx320\">First, multicenter clinical studies&nbsp;are planned across several expert sites. The goal: confirm LUCA\u00ae\u2019s safety and efficacy at scale, in diverse real-life conditions, and prove the consistency of outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-f1pyi324\">Next, comes the regulatory race: CE certification&nbsp;is on the horizon, closely followed by the U.S. FDA. These approvals will unlock access to European and American hospitals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-rikcm330\">Finally, new surgical indications&nbsp;are in sight. While LUCA\u00ae was designed for vitreoretinal surgery, its micrometric precision could extend to other ophthalmic \u2014 or even non-ophthalmic \u2014 interventions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-8yuqe334\">\u201c<em>This is only the beginning. In ten years, surgeons will look back and realize how limited they were. We\u2019re entering the micron era.<\/em>\u201d&nbsp;\u2014 Ronen Castro, CEO AcuSurgical<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-thzd31360\"><strong>A New Standard in the Making<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-aq4751398\">The FIH success proved one thing:Robotic precision can enhance \u2014 not replace \u2014 the human hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-3tuhb342\">It can steady it. Extend it. Free it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-8c362344\">Today, every test, every upgrade, every feedback session brings LUCA\u00ae closer to its true purpose:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-cxsb1346\"><em>To become the essential partner in the future of retinal surgery.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p id=\"viewer-viewer-tvvh34243\"><strong>Follow&nbsp;<\/strong><a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/acusurgical\/\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><strong><u>AcuSurgical<\/u><\/strong><\/a>&nbsp;to see what\u2019s next \u2014 and be part of what\u2019s possible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Just over a year ago, LUCA\u00ae entered the operating room for the very first time. In February 2024, at UZ Ghent in Gent, Belgium, a historic milestone was reached: seven successful vitrectomy surgeries were performed using the world&#8217;s first bi-manual robot for the retina \u2014 with zero device-related adverse events. (More on that in&nbsp;our previous [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-525","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inside-acusurgical"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=525"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":526,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/525\/revisions\/526"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=525"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=525"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/acusurgical.vivir.pw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=525"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}