A roundup of recent medtech strategic alliances, mergers & acquisitions and financings.

Start-Up's monthly comprehensive review of emerging life science companies that have received venture funding during the month, including companies in the pharmaceutical, medical device, diagnostic and research instrumentation and reagent sectors.

Medical robotics has changed dramatically since the 1980s, when neurosurgeons first used a robot to precisely hold a fixture during brain surgery. Advances in computer image processing, surgical imaging technologies, techniques for registering surgical images, modeling, mechatronics, surgical simulation, and human-robot interaction have opened the door for emerging technologies that will have an increasing impact on growth in this market for many years to come.

Despite orthopedic surgeons' conservative reputation when it comes to new technology adoption, high-tech devices are increasingly finding a place in this field. There have been recent developments in robotic computer-assisted surgery and other high-tech enabling tools that could lead to wider acceptance of these devices by surgeons better known in the past for eschewing such "frills." Although there are exceptions, most manufacturers seeking success in this market appear to have learned from the mistakes of the past, and many, instead of offering technology for technology's sake, are now trying to provide surgeons with what they really want - products that offer a value-added benefit to their practice.