Hernia Mesh fixation specialist Via Surgical Ltd., has received FDA 510(k) clearance to commercialize FasTouch™, intended for fixation of prosthetic material to soft tissues in various minimally invasive and open surgical procedures such as hernia repairs.
Background
In case you have’t come across the company before (we hadn’t), Via Surgical was founded as recently as March 2012 as an offshoot from laparoscopic surgical instrument company PolyTouch Medical Ltd., following that company’s acquisition by Covidien. Realizing the need for an improved hernia mesh fixation solution, the team founded Via Surgical Ltd. in March 2012, a company dedicated to the development of unique suture-like fixation technologies.
Via Surgical’s FasTouch system delivers uniquely designed suture-like fasteners that mimic traditional sutures by providing a closed and locked fixation loop around the mesh and the tissue. The company claims it provides superior fixation strength, while minimizing the amount of implanted foreign body and there’s a nice video on its website here.
Physician/SAB Member comments
David Earle, MD, FACS, a member of the Via Surgical Medical Advisory Board and Associate Professor of Surgery, Tufts University School of Medicine, commented: “The FasTouch fixation device has the potential to dramatically reduce the need for full thickness abdominal wall sutures, possibly reducing postoperative pain and recurrence rates. I believe this is what has been missing for all these years.”
“With the potential to reduce chronic pain complaints and a reduction in overall related costs, the FasTouch hernia mesh fixation system will help hernia surgeons everywhere to optimize patient outcomes,” added Brian P. Jacob, MD, FACS, a member of the Via Surgical Medical Advisory Board and Regional Medical Director at AngelMD, an investment platform connecting physician investors and leading medical startups from all over the world.
Company comments
Ofek Levin, the Founder and CEO of Via Surgical commented, “We are thrilled to have reached this value-creating milestone with the FDA clearance of FasTouch. Clinical interest in FasTouch is extremely high, surgeons are intrigued by the ability to deliver flexible and consistent suture-like fasteners combined with the ease of delivery of a standard tacking device. I believe the FasTouch will revolutionize the mesh fixation market.”
Source: Via Surgical Ltd., PR Newswire