A Glasgow-based world leader in innovative approaches to minimally invasive robotic heart surgery has seen its breakthrough technology progress from world-first procedure to routine clinical use in the United States

CardioPrecision — originally spun out of the NHS through InnoScot Health — announced last year that its tech for robotic-assisted transcervical aortic valve replacement (AVR) procedures had been successfully extended to patients, meaning greater precision, less pain, and faster recovery times.

Now, its groundbreaking approach has delivered another major first at the Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, with a statement from CardioPrecision reading: “A key measure of success for any MedTech innovation is not the first case. It’s when leading clinicians adopt it into routine clinical practice.”

Consultant Cardiac Surgeon and Chief Medical Officer of CardioPrecision, Fraser Sutherland said: “I am proud to see Transcervical Robotic AVR become part of the routine robotic cardiac surgery programme at the Cleveland Clinic.

“Having been involved in the development of this technology from the beginning, one of the most rewarding aspects is seeing the original vision translate into tangible patient benefits.

“For any surgeon, there is no greater satisfaction than seeing an innovation move beyond concept and begin improving the recovery experience of patients in routine clinical practice.”

CardioPrecision’s AVATAR (Advanced Videoscopic Aortic surgery by Transcervical Approach using Robot-assistance) AVR procedure is a pioneering heart surgery that performs aortic valve replacements through a tiny incision in the neck, eliminating the need for conventional open-heart surgery which requires splitting of the breastbone.

The company has taken major steps into the high value US market in recent years and achieved domestic success with its cutting-edge perform Endoscopic Vessel Harvesting (EVH) technologies adopted by 75% of cardiac centres in Scotland.

CardioPrecision has made a significant impact on global heart surgery by integrating its CoreVista® Robot Enabling Platform with robotic surgical systems such as the da Vinci Xi and latest generation da Vinci 5 — the latter of which has just received regulatory approval for deployment across Europe, representing a major step in further advancement.

CardioPrecision stated: “AVATR AVR or Transcervical AVR has demonstrated a faster recovery and earlier return to daily activities than other minimally invasive approaches. As robotic cardiac surgery continues to expand, we believe transcervical procedures will play an increasingly important role in advancing patient care.

“We're proud that our CoreVista® platform is helping drive this clinical advancement.”

The company paid tribute to the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery at Cleveland Clinic — a non-profit academic medical centre — for “their leadership in advancing robotic cardiac surgery and their commitment to improving patient care”.

The Cleveland Clinic team reported that in the first half of 2026, it had increased its number of robotic-assisted cardiothoracic operations by 50% over the prior-year period, cumulatively approaching 3,000 surgeries of this kind by mid-2026.

The global robotic-assisted surgery market is currently thought to be worth around £13 billion and is projected to rise to around £34 billion by 2033.

Mr Sutherland recently attended the Cleveland Clinic's ‘State of the Art Robotics in Cardiac and Thoracic Surgery’ course, adding: “It was particularly encouraging to see robotic aortic valve replacement receive increasing attention throughout the programme.

“Transcervical AVR using CoreVista® System from CardioPrecision was featured in presentations that highlighted positive clinical outcomes and patient recovery experiences.”

Executive Chair of InnoScot Health, Graham Watson said: “We are proud to be part of the CardioPrecision journey and congratulate them on their latest milestone in robotic-assisted aortic valve replacement (AVR).

“MedTech innovations have to overcome many challenges in order to successfully be integrated into routine use, thereby ensuring that patients consistently receive the safest, most effective, and highest-quality care available, so the significance of this adoption is clear.”