Titan Medical Inc (TMDIF)

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Titan Medical Inc. Enters Into Exclusive License Agreement with Columbia University for Novel Single Port Robotic Surgery System
February 15th, 2012


TORONTO, ONTARIO–(Marketwire – Feb. 15, 2012) - Titan Medical Inc. (“the Company”) (TSX VENTURE:TMD) announced today that it has entered into an exclusive license agreement with Columbia University for a novel single port robotic surgery system, The Insertable Robotic Effector Platform (“IREP”).

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company will have exclusive rights to the development and commercialization of the intellectual property of IREP, developed by Dr. Nabil Simaan.

IREP is believed to be the world’s smallest, in terms of required diameter, to enter the body while enabling full manipulation capabilities and imaging feedback. It consists of a novel endoscope and two flexible arms, all contained within one lumen, that is meant to be used to perform single port surgery in a variety of areas, such as single port gallbladder surgery, trans-vaginal access, trans-oral access, and trans-anal access. IREP will enable surgeons to carry out minimally invasive procedures by using natural openings and by using only a single small 15 mm opening in the abdomen as opposed to 3 to 5 openings currently used in existing minimally invasive systems. It also sets a new standard in terms of compactness and deployability since it is small enough to be attached to the surgical bed thus allowing quick reorientation of the patient during surgery, whereas existing systems are very large and do not mount on the surgical bed. Other advantages of IREP include its capability to include sensory information such as force feedback and intra-abdominal ultrasound and also its suitability for micro-surgery enabling high level accuracy which is not currently feasible with existing systems.

“We are pleased to have obtained an exclusive license with Columbia University for this novel single port robotic surgery system. It fits perfectly with our strategic plans of developing and commercializing a suite of next generation robotic surgical technologies,” said Craig Leon, Chief Executive Officer of Titan Medical Inc.