The Munich startup Medineering offers robotic assistance for ENT surgery to relieve surgeons of physically demanding tasks, allowing them to focus more on tasks that require their individual skills.
The so-called robotic assistance consists of an intelligent positioning arm that is simply screwed onto the operating table. A small robot optimized for a specific task is attached to the arm. This could be, for example, guiding an endoscope. Endoscopic nasal surgery is standard practice these days. However, this has led to surgeons only being able to operate with one hand during such procedures, as they have to hold the endoscope in the other hand.
Medineering offers the potential for entirely new surgical techniques. The company was founded by Dr.-Ing. Maximilian Krinninger and Dr.-Ing. Stephan Nowatschin. Their goal:
"We want to improve the working conditions of surgeons with the help of robotic assistance. Our first solution, for example, enables surgeons to operate with two hands during endoscopic nasal procedures."
Advantages of two-handed surgery include time savings and better visibility, as blood can be continuously suctioned out.
But how did the founders come to found Medineering? Both had a very personal motivation. After completing their doctorates in medical technology, Stephan and Maximilian worked at medical technology companies. Maximilian says:
"The topic of robotics has accompanied and fascinated both of us for over ten years. And we were aware of the surgeons' long-standing desire for robotic assistance in head surgery."
The USA is ahead – Medineering wants to change that
At the same time, the young entrepreneurs noticed that the topic was becoming increasingly important in the US market — while German companies were acting rather cautiously, even though the German market is actually a leader in medical technology.
Maximilian explains:
"Unfortunately, this situation reminded us strongly of the debate surrounding electromobility. However, we didn't want to wait for the American Teslas of medical robotics; instead, we wanted to work full-time ourselves to ensure that surgeons could realize their potential with the help of robotics."
Of course, this decision also entailed risks. Stephan quit his job before even speaking to the first investor:
“Especially Barbara, Harald and Carsten from BayStartup-Team were a great help during the start-up phase, as they put us in touch with our investors at the time.
Today we are very happy that we took this step!”
Of wishes and prototypes
Ultimately, it turned out that a startup offered exactly the right framework for establishing the technology. Surgeons also greatly value Medineering's short communication channels and flexibility. The doctors know that their suggestions will be taken on board by the founding team, and the startup strives to implement their requests quickly.
After seed funding in August 2014, Medineering stepped on the gas. The first milestone was the completion of a prototype of the positioning arm. By spring 2015, just six months after starting operations, the founders were able to present the prototype. Stephan is proud:
"This made our novel approach to robotic assistance physically visible for the first time, and we received a great deal of attention and positive feedback from medical technology and robotics companies."
Another important milestone was the subsequent Series A financing round. In spring 2016, the young medtech company secured the Munich-based medical technology company Brainlab as an investor and cooperation partner. This will make Medineering's approach accessible to neurosurgery patients.
A challenge: (international) approval
This Munich-based startup has no shortage of successes. But the founders are also familiar with challenges. After all, medical devices must be approved in Germany. The approval processes can be very complex. At the same time, regulatory requirements are becoming increasingly complex, thus delaying innovation. In addition, the processes vary from country to country.
However, approval is almost within reach. Medineering is optimistic that CE approval for the robot system for the European market will be granted soon. The next step is to enter the American market. FDA approval is proving very challenging at the moment.
When asked about the best advice they ever received, Stephan says:
"Startups are all about moving things forward and making things happen. That's why we take a cue from Theodore Roosevelt and say to ourselves, 'When the moment comes, the right thing is the best you can do, the wrong thing is the second best, and the worst you can do is nothing.'"
Medineering sees good employees as crucial for successful company development.
Open communication culture, clear goals
Maximilian adds:
"In a startup, no one can hide, and everyone's input is visible and important for success. For this reason, we believe an open communication culture and clear goal setting are essential. Only when every employee identifies with the company's goals will they reach their full potential."
Utilizing the full potential is essential. The founders still have big plans. In five years, they want to offer their robotic assistance with many different application-specific robots. In ten years, they aim to defend their leading market position in the field of medical robotics. Also in sight: good innovation management, which will enable them to respond to customer requests even more efficiently and quickly realize prototypes.
