Fun Innovations Friday: Strand by Strand, Robots Are Changing Painful Hair Loss Treatments
Robots are infiltrating every market you can think of: food delivery, retail, airports, healthcare, hospitality, etc. It's no surprise then that this latest market has turned to using robots as well: cosmetic healthcare.
The ARTAS iXi Robotic Hair Restoration System is the world's first intelligent hair transplant platform to use state-of-the-art robotics and artificial intelligence (AI) technology. It's precise, it's efficient, and it repeatably harvests while site marking and implanting hair all at the same time. It was originally created and developed by Restoration Robotics before merging with Venus Concept, a privately held global aesthetics technology company.
Using a multicamera stereoscopic vision system that has a 44 µm resolution analyzes each follicular unit while repeatedly recognizing and identifying key features 60x per second, accurately harvesting each follicle at the optimal angle.
The AI analyzes, monitors, and tracks each follicle's characteristics—position, angle, size, and orientation—and adjusts for patient movement. Machine learning (ML) recognizes and digitally maps past, current, and future grafts, learning new patterns to deliver continuous improvements.
The 7-axis KUKA robot arm is highly dexterous with a 0.1 mm repeatability and the propoetary Ultra Punch system has a multifaceted tip and variable speed to dissect with less trauma to the follicle.
With IoT (Internet of Things) capability, the 3D planning software on the touch screen lets physicians customize the design for the patient.
Combining all of these technologies, the system analyzes and selects the appropriate grafts from the donor area without risking scarring on the patient's scalp. It also identifies recipient sites while implanting each graft at 1,000 grafts per hour, protecting existing hair. All in all, it's supposed to offer a much more natural appearance. You can see before and after photos here.
Fun Innovations Friday
Created by the editors of New Equipment Digest and Plant Services, Fun Innovations Friday is a feel-good blog that showcases how advances in science, math, engineering, and technology are making our world more whimsical. Here’s another post that is guaranteed to brighten your day.
Mercedes-Benz Hires Humanoid Robots to Help Workers on the Plant Floor
Possible uses for the robot include bringing parts to production line workers, inspecting components, and delivering totes of kitted parts later in the manufacturing process.
