Can Robot-Assisted Surgery Carve a Niche in Ophthalmology?

Marc de Smet was born in Canada, completing his medical training in McGill and UBC. He worked for 8 years at the NEI in Bethesda MD in the immunology service along side Robert Nussenblatt, completing his term as Chief of the Clinical Immunology Service. He completed a 1 year fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute in Vitreo-retinal surgery in Baltimore. Next followed 10 years as head of the department of Ophthalmology at the University of Amsterdam, where he initiated a clinical research unit and forged collaborations with outside departments including the biomedical engineering department of the Technical university in Eindhoven, the Netherlands. He has since moved to a private group practice focused on retina and inflammatory disorders in Lausanne, Switzerland. Research interests include retinal imaging (during which he pioneered with Richard Rosen, transverse scanning),pharmacology as applied to retinal diseases leading for example to the clinical development of Jetrea (ocriplasmin), the use of methotrexate in eyes for the treatment of ocular lymphoma, the use of steroids for various ocular indications. For 10 years, he has worked on the development of a robotic surgical platform for eye surgery along with the bio-engineering group at TU/e leading to Preceyes bv, a start-up dedicated to the development of high precision assistive eye surgery. He is the current chief medical officer of the company. The robotic arm was used for the first time in humans August 2016 in Oxford England. The next stage of development will be the incorporation of intelligent instruments to enhance safety, ease of use, and facilitate the development of new applications. He has authored or co-authored more than 175 papers, 25 books or book chapters, given numerous lectures and named lectures. Treasurer of the international uveitis study group, he is member of the Jules Gonin club, the macula society and heads a division of the EViCR.net – a european clinical research network.