World’s first spine surgery performed at Providence St. Joseph Hospital using eCential Robotics’ open spine robot

Providence St. Joseph Hospital Orange announced it has successfully performed the world’s first robotic spinal surgery using a new open spine platform by eCential Robotics to implant a Spineart medical device. 

eCential Robotics, a surgical robotics company which developed the open surgical platform and Spineart, a leader in spine surgery innovation, are collaborators in a new age of open technology sharing that allows cross-functional use of implantation devices and robotic surgical platforms.

“In our relentless pursuit of innovation and excellence in patient care, we were eager to utilize the solutions provided by Spineart and eCential,” said Erick Westbroek, M.D., Providence St. Joseph spinal surgeon. “The integration of Spineart's advanced implant system with eCential's open robotic platform will enable us to perform minimally invasive surgeries with high predictability, reproducibility and outcomes.”

Providence St. Joseph Hospital has become the first clinical institution in the world to be equipped with the state-of-the-art robot, and the recent surgeries are the first in the United States to be used successfully in conjunction with Spineart implants. 

“St. Joseph Hospital has built a strong reputation for world-class surgical care, and our patients often travel from far and wide to seek treatment and care from our stellar spine and orthopedic surgeons, who are armed with cutting-edge technology,” said Brian Helleland, chief executive of Providence St. Joseph Hospital and the Orange County/High Desert area. “These advances provide yet another sophisticated platform for our surgeons to do what they do best.”  

“We are thrilled to announce the installation of this state-of-the-art robot at St. Joseph Hospital,” said Jerome Trividic, CEO of Spineart. “We believe this advancement will greatly benefit our customers, hospitals, surgeons, and patients by enhancing surgical precision and improving patient outcomes.”

St. Joseph’s surgical cases for eCential Robotics are a first-in-human use of its unified robotic technology, as well as the start of eCential operations in the US. It also marks the introduction of cutting-edge solutions that address the evolving needs of surgeons and patients worldwide.

“We are pleased to see the adoption of our technology in the US,” Clément Vidal, CEO of eCential Robotics. “There is strong interest and momentum for our open solution because it allows surgeons to select the optimal implant system for each patient while providing financial advantages to hospitals. Our platform is described as the smartphone of surgical robots.”