What is the Smartgraft?

[bullitnut]

What actually is Smartgraft, is it similar to the ARTAS? i read a little about it somewhere and from what i could make it was an FUE device but is it a robotic machine like the ARTAS?
Sorry for my lack of knowledge, never heard of it before*nl

 

[Bigmac]

Smartgraft is a similar machine to Neograft. It uses suction to extract the grafts.

 

[bullitnut]

Ahh i see, thanks Bigmac for the information. Have you seen it in action at one of the conferences bud?

 

[Bigmac]

Not seen it used in a live surgery, so I dont know how good it is. It's it a robot, just a motorised fue extraction machine that's only as good as the person using it.

 

[JoeTillman]

I've not seen it in action but I've seen the unit and spoken to the reps at last year's meeting in Vegas. I also saw in in 2015 in Chicago. It is similar to the Neograft and the company was started by ex-Neograft people.


The main difference in the suction is that it is "wet suction" in that it uses saline being pumped through the lines to carry the graft to it's reservoir. I don't remember the other details but the rep was telling me they took what they considered to be the weaknesses of Neograft and addressed them with SmartGraft. It is also supposed to be cheaper and the consumables are less expensive.

 

[catmando]

How do they justify the cost of these machines to the doctors?

 

[JoeTillman]

Very easily, actually. The Neograft costs about 125,000 if memory serves, and it pays for itself in less than a month based on overall revenue if you have a busy practice. If you're just starting out then it takes longer but I can't imagine it taking longer than six months.

 

[Bigmac]

There's another very similar machine called Easymo made by a company named Hironic.