About Us

Our Story

Founding

Insight Medbotics was founded November 20, 2017 by our two founders: MDA and The Centre for Surgical Invention and Innovation (CSii). A common interest in robotic minimally-invasive surgery had led them to apply for and win a $20M Canadian Federal “Centre of Excellence” grant. Insight was formed to commercialize the results from that R&D project.

On the MDA side, Insight’s Judith system is directly descended from the high-stakes engineering embodied in the Space Shuttle robotic arm (the famous “Canadarm”) and the “NeuroArm” for performing brain surgery in an MRI. On the CSii side, Judith inherits world leading expertise in telerobotic surgery.

The Need

But where could advanced robotics technology make the biggest difference for healthcare? One of the biggest and most pervasive health problems globally is breast cancer; roughly 1 in 8 women* are afflicted with it, and it is serious (last year 44,000 fatalities resulted from breast cancer in the US alone).

Yet relatively few high-tech solutions are available to assist with treating breast cancer; despite the rise of precision minimally-invasive techniques for other illnesses, breast cancer patients are often left with a choice of a mastectomy or lumpectomy+radiation.

* USA statistics:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19768887
www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/

The Passion & The Possibilities

When you sense that the technology you’re working on can really change the world – in particular, that it can really help women deal with an awful illness – it creates a sense of purpose and excitement that is electric.

Here’s the future we’re all working to create: at-risk women will receive sensitive MR imaging, allowing even the smallest and earliest-stage tumors to be found. Once located, Insight’s Judith will precisely inject anesthetic along the path to the lesion, then smoothly & accurately (and painlessly) follow the exact same path to insert a sequence of needles to the centre of the tumor, taking samples and then freezing the cancerous tissue until it is destroyed. No surgery, no use of an Operating Room, much happier patient, satisfied doctor, and lower costs all around.

Founders

After working together to develop Insight’s Judith product on a Canadian Federal Centre of Excellence grant, MDA and CSii co-founded Insight to commercialize the technology they had created.

MDA

MDA is a proudly Canadian company specializing in creating innovative technology for space, defence, and non-government applications such as medicine. Canada’s contribution to NASA’s Space Shuttle program, the shuttle’s robotic arm, or “Canadarm”, became one of the most famous icons in Canadian history. Canadarm 2 is currently featured on the Canadian five dollar bill.

With more than four decades of experience and a team of 1900 employees, MDA develops and delivers future-focused solutions for space exploration, Earth observation, space awareness, and defence systems.

With a global reach and a boundless perspective, MDA strives to create a better world for all generations.

For more on MDA, visit www.mdacorporation.com.

MDA Logo

CSii

The Centre for Surgical Innovation & Invention is dedicated to the medical community and its patients with a commitment to enhancing healthcare for all Canadians.

Through the development and commercialization of cutting-edge medical robotic technologies and techniques, CSii is able to improve access to healthcare across the country.

IGAR, a proprietary robotic platform, is a CSii innovation revolutionizing diagnostic and interventional processes for breast disease.

For more on CSii, visit www.csii.ca.

Partners

Minimally invasive cryoablation therapy for treating breast cancer

The leader in MRI coils and imaging accessories designed for better patient comfort and image quality for breast cancer