Marseille, March 14, 2024 – The Paoli-Calmettes Insitute (IPC) acquired Epione®, Quantum Surgical’ robotic platform which enables curative and early treatment of tumors. The first patient was treated yesterday in Marseille. The IPC is the 4th center in the world to offer its patients this minimally invasive treatment in which one or several needles are inserted through the skin into the tumor to destroy it.

Epione® is a robot-assisted technology that enables interventional radiologists to perform safe and effective percutaneous tumor ablations, a minimally invasive treatment where one or more needles are inserted through the skin to destroy the tumor. This platform is designed to plan, target, execute, and confirm the ablation of abdominal and pulmonary tumors, with other locations currently under study.

After Baptist Health Hospital in Miami, Gustave Roussy Institute in Villejuif, and Hospices Civils de Lyon, the Paoli-Calmettes Institute is the fourth center in the world to acquire the Epione® robot.

For over 10 years, at IPC, patients have been benefiting from these percutaneous ablation techniques to treat small tumors, either using heat (radiofrequency, microwave) or cold (cryotherapy). These treatments are performed within a dedicated unit consisting of three operating rooms with two interventional scanners and an angiography table. The advent of robotics in interventional radiology will further enhance the safety and precision of these procedures.

Professor Norbert Vey, General Director of IPC, explains: "IPC is a cancer center dedicated to offering increasingly effective treatments to its patients. IPC's strategy now includes developing minimally invasive interventions to enhance patients' quality of life and reduce after-effects. By offering minimally invasive tumor ablations, IPC will be able to treat more patients and improve their comfort."

Quantum Surgical and the Paoli-Calmettes Institute have signed a scientific and clinical partnership agreement focusing on clinical studies, with Quantum Surgical acting as the promoter, as well as pioneering topics in robotics.

"Epione® is a unique robotic solution that enables the treatment of tumors in hard-to-reach areas, where only a few experts can intervene. With the robot, these minimally invasive treatments will be standardized, allowing us to provide this curative treatment to a larger number of patients," adds Dr. Gilles Piana, Head of the Medical Imaging Department at IPC.

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