The upper jaw corrective surgery, which was carried out on July 3 at the University Hospital Basel, deployed CARLO technology – or the first Cold Ablation Robot-Guided Laser Osteotome. CARLO is the world’s first medical tactile robot that can “cut bones using cold laser technology and thus avoid contact”, according to a University Hospital statement.
The system was developed by the Basel startup Advanced Osteotomy Tools AG (AOT) and works on the basis of an app. AOT’s is the world's first app for upper jaw correction to prove successful.
“With the first-in-human trial of a system that digitalizes an entire procedure, the University Hospital Basel is underlining its commitment to playing a pioneering role in the digitalization of medicine,” commented University Hospital Basel Director, Werner Kübler, in the statement. The first-in-human clinical trial was conducted by the University Hospital Basel, the Kantonsspital Aarau and the Allgemeine Krankenhaus der Stadt Wien as part of the approval process for CARLO.
AOT is already working on further development of the system. With real-time tissue analysis, surgeons using CARLO will be able to find out whether they are operating on healthy or cancerous tissue. The system can be used in the entire body and, following successful approval, will be marketed worldwide.
