Medtronic Buys Israel’s Mazor Robotics for $1.7 Billion
Medtronic, the world’s largest medical device company, acquired Israeli robotic surgery company Mazor Robotics for $1.7 billion in 2018. Mazor, a company built upon research that was conducted at the robotic laboratory at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, is a pioneer in the development of robotic guidance systems for spinal surgery.
Surgeons at the Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem performed the world’s first dual-robotic surgery, employing both Mazor’s Renaissance Guidance System and Siemens’ Artis Zeego to repair a severe spinal fracture suffered by a factory worker who broke his leg in two places and broke six of his spinal vertebrae. Mazor’s system has also proven to be safe and effective for other surgeries, including stereotactic brain procedures. In recent years, Israel has cemented its role as a leader in robotic surgical tools, and has attracted much global attention from investors and large companies such as Medtronic.