Coming from a family of engineers, Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro was always fascinated with the idea of “doing things better.” While attending medical school and training in the traditional form of laparoscopic surgery in Chile, he thought about ways to improve surgery for patients, surgeons, and hospitals.
His pondering and research led him to develop a groundbreaking idea: utilizing magnetic technology in surgery. Unlike traditional laparoscopic surgery which requires multiple incisions and the insertion of a liver retractor and other instruments through the abdominal wall, he envisioned a much less invasive approach.
Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro worked for almost ten years as a minimally invasive surgeon in Santiago and has completed more than 3,000 laparoscopic surgeries. Having been involved in various research efforts and clinical trials, his passion for utilizing technology to improve the patient experience only heightened.
He soon realized that by utilizing magnetic technology during surgery, the number of necessary incisions could be reduced. Seven years in the making, he pioneered the first and only medical system that combines “machines and magnets,” Magnetic Surgery with MARS®.
“What we invented is a way to deploy a small magnetic piece inside the body, and then use a powerful external magnet to generate movement. This way, you reduce the number of incisions that you need in order to complete a surgery and that’s the core benefit,” he explains.
Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro’s technology has a “triple impact” that benefits three stakeholders: the patient who receives the benefits of less painful and less-invasive surgery, the surgeon who gets the “perfect assistant”, and the hospital which can implement an economical alternative to surgical procedures. With a lack of doctors and surgeons across North America, this technology has the potential to significantly alleviate the strain on today’s medical systems.
Despite his confidence in this revolutionary idea, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro initially faced considerable skepticism. Back during his surgical training, his own professor dismissed the concept as “the most stupid idea” he had ever heard.
This resistance to change, especially in a field as conservative as surgery, was a significant, but expected obstacle. History has shown that many groundbreaking innovations, from laparoscopic surgery to now magnetic-assisted surgery, often face initial criticism.
Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro acknowledges that surgeons learn how to do things in a certain way, and one of the main challenges is convincing them to take the time to change their technique.
Doing so is something Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro believes patients will recognize, adding that although traditional laparoscopic surgery methods may be faster for a surgeon, it’s “not what’s best for the patient.”
Determined to prove his doubters wrong, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro stopped his clinical practice in Chile and moved to the United States where he believed the true potential of his technology could be realized. He established roots in Silicon Valley and founded Levita® Magnetics, an organization committed to transforming surgical care for all patients.
Levita is aimed at developing new technology that diminishes the number of incisions during surgery. Selected as one of 2016’s ‘Innovations of the Year,’ by the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro emphasizes that the road ahead still may not be easy.
“First, they told me that it was impossible to develop a tool based on magnets. Then they told me it was impossible for a surgeon coming from Chile to make a significant impact in the United States. But I moved to the Bay Area without knowing anybody, and now I’m a first-time surgeon turned CEO of an award-winning technology,” he says.
Currently, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro and his team at Levita are exploring new ways to incorporate AI and augmented reality into the surgery process to make it even easier and more cost-effective for patients, surgeons, and hospitals alike.
He shares that while in Latin America, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro was encouraged to be as cost-effective as possible because there are far fewer resources, and that mentality inspired him to found Levita Magnetics and go down the path of developing a procedure that is less invasive and better for the patient.
“With MARS, you will not only be able to send the patients back home earlier, but you will also be able to use fewer resources in the hospital. Although the US has more resources, my belief is that soon, we will need to transition to a more cost-effective model,” he says.
Earlier this year, Dr. Rodriguez-Navarro completed the first-ever augmented reality abdominal surgery performed in Chile and plans to bring this innovation to medical rooms across North America. Currently, the FDA-approved MARS system is available in the U.S. and Chile.
To learn more about Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro and Levita Magnetics, visit the company’s website today.