Though they have not taken up a considerable part of our lives (yet), it is unfathomable just how robots make our tasks and jobs better or easier.
In 2016, the world’s smartest robot was activated. It is called Sophia. This realistic humanoid robot can display humanlike expressions such as contempt, surprise, and fear and interact with people. Built by Hanson Robotics, Sophia can also walk, although slowly, using legs made by DRC-HUBO. Before that, a chess-playing computer was designed to learn to outplay humans.
In medicine, we also see more and more use of robots, though many people are not crazy yet about handing over their medical care to machines. Even though these robots’ cost is still high, the robotic system has been found to achieve more precise movements, thus reducing injury to the affected site during the procedure and producing smaller marks after recovery.
Robotic surgery is also believed to be safer compared to open surgery. It reduces discomfort and pain, recovery time is quicker, low risk of infection, and blood loss is lessened massively. The proponents of robotic surgery are building surgical robots but trying to get them to learn from and collaborate.
One example of a surgical robot is in the area of hair restoration. The Artas System, for instance, which Restoration Robotics developed, has been used commercially across the world, particularly in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. You can find a center in the UK by clicking here.
But it has not yet replaced the human input completely. For it works, a human surgeon has to first identify a ‘donor site’ on the back of the patient’s scalp. After applying a local anesthetic, the Artas robot arm then comes and extracts a tuft of hair. The human doctor will then implant the follicles in the area that is balding or thinning.
This process is known as FUE (Follicular Unit Extraction), an alternative to the traditional and more commonly used procedure ‘strip harvesting.’
Although the ‘strip harvest’ method remains one of the most trusted patients, FUE is steadily gaining momentum and popularity as the go-to procedure for better results. The new extraction methods have been followed by a growing pool of experience and hair transplantation surgeons’ expertise.
How artas is distributing the hair transplant industry
Since its inception, this new system for hair restoration has been gaining steady popularity thanks to its effectiveness. The system is known for providing a less invasive and less painful substitute to the traditional strip surgery. You will also recover faster using this method compared to other similar techniques for hair restoration. This system’s robotic assistance also allows the complex, repetitive and dreary task of dichotomizing hair grafts with greater productivity and less fatigue.
ARTAS is a product of Restoration Robotics, a medical device firm developing and commercializing the system across the world as the first and the only currently physician-assisted system on the market to dissect and assist in the process follicular units harvested from the scalp. This makes it easier to construct recipient implant sites using patented algorithms and implant the hair follicles into the appropriate places. Restoration Robotics is known for their unique and distinct know-how in machine vision, visual servoing and robotics, image guidance, and expertise in creating intuitive interfaces.
ARTAS Robotic system is today the most advanced hair restoration technique on the market. It is one of only three hair restoration methods used in the industry.
Futuristic Hair Transplant Methods
Though the FUE technique has also had its fair share of popularity due to its preciseness and minimally invasive methods, technology moves at a pace that it cannot keep up. The world is changing rapidly, and there are already upgrades for the current FUE hair transplant techniques, though, including:
Artas Robotic
Artas is the new kid in town and has proven to be the most effective way of extracting hair roots in large parts. It features a robotic arm, which jabs tiny circular incisions around the hair follicles that are then picked up.
The robotic system works on the principle of optics. Its algorithm calculates the hair growth angle and then adapts its arm appropriately and jabs incisions at steadily fixed intervals. It also uses AI to define the hair growth pattern and then punches holes using mechanics around the hair, which removes the root from the scalp. The surgeon then picks up the tufts of air to be transplanted to the thinning areas.
Artas is currently the most advanced hair transplantation method, and because it uses artificial intelligence, it is more accurate and requires a less manual process. It was invented a decade ago, which is a long time in the technology world. But, it struggled to gain momentum due to high costs and availability. However, since 2018, Artas has been upgraded and updated with numerous features that will define the future of robotic hair transplant with machines.
Hair Cloning
Hair cloning is the process where new hair is created from donor follicles in a hair multiplication process. Since hair doesn’t increase naturally in adults, scientists are currently trying to figure out a way to create a system that will enable donor follicles to develop new hair at a volume that is enough to cover a balding spot. This process does not involve any surgical procedure or transplanting donor hair into an empty scalp. This hybrid technology’s main aim is to multiply human hair or allow for the duplication to occur naturally where hair would not previously grow.
However, at this point, this technology is still in its nascent stage, and no standard method has been provided yet. Research centers and labs worldwide are still pursuing their version of hair cloning, and hopefully, one of these versions will mature first and be introduced to the market.
The Impact Robotic Hair Transplants
This system has had a tremendous benefit in the hair transplant industry. Both women and men with different kinds of hair loss can use this procedure to restore hair. People can also use it after radiotherapy, scalp transplants, or postoperative scars. It has an intelligent enough algorithm to select the number of 1, 2, 3, and 4 follicular units for removal. During hair transplant, 1 follicular hair unit is usually planed at the hairline, followed by 2 follicular hair units, 3 follicular units, and 4 follicular units.
Quick recovery
One of the popular selling points of the ARTAS system is the quick recovery after a hair transplant. It works by allowing surgeons to aim for the best hair grafts, and as a result, the doctors don’t need to sample many grafts. This means that the fewer the sampled grafts, the faster the patient’s body will heal after the procedure.
Uses your natural hair
Another massive change brought by the ARTAS systems is that it uses your natural hair. It prepares new recipient sites and then extracts the best and quality grafts that will last longer.
Within a few months of your transplant, you will start to see significant results, and within a year or less, you will have full hair in your head, and since it used your natural hair, the growing hair will have the same texture and color as the rest of the hair on your head.
Lifetime results
Unlike other hair restoration techniques, ARTAS robotics transplants last forever. This means you don’t have to go back for more transplants or treatments, provided you follow the clinic’s maintenance program.
Minimally-invasive procedure
This robotic system uses AI algorithms to transplant an individual group of hair to the recipient site.
How does Artas Work
Though it uses the same conventional follicular unit extractions, this system is designed to identify the best quality hair grafts to extract from the site. In addition to the robotic system, ARTAS uses artificial intelligence to determine the best grafts to extract. ARTAS reduces the time required to perform hair transplants and increases the precision and accuracy of the procedure while offering long-lasting results.
ARTAS uses precision robotics, digital imaging, and AI to identify the extraction and grafting of quality, healthy follicles. It doesn’t require surgical removal of your body tissues, and you will not experience any damage to your scalp. There is also no need for suturing or staples during the procedure.
Benefits of Artas Robotic Hair Transplant
This method of hair restoration has many benefits including:
- Natural look
Unlike hair plugs, ARTAS only extract the healthiest hair follicles from the donor site and eradicate the annoying giveaway tells of transplants.
- Steady change
After the procedure, your newly transplanted graft will start to grow in your scalp as permanent hairs. Slowly, there will be a massive growth of hair to replace your lost hair. You get a gradual shift in your appearance, and in the end, you will achieve a more young-looking look.
- Lower transection rates
ATARS Robotic Hair Transplant System has a reported transection rate of just 8 percent compared to FUE, 30 percent. FUE transection rate is a way of measuring the effectiveness of a surgical procedure, and the higher the quality, the less effective the result is.
Artas vs. NeoGraft
The main difference between ARTAS and NeoGraft comes in the way the hair is extracted. In both methods, a surgeon will later transplant or implant the hair manually in the thinning areas. Both are also minimally-invasive and have very minimal discomfort. But with a transection rate of 8 percent, a skillful and experienced Neograft technician can have a transection rate of as lower as 5 percent.