Sentante (UAB Inovatyvi Medicina) - Pioneer of Haptic Remote Endovascular Robotics

📢 Key Milestones (2024–2026):
   In July 2024, Sentante completed its first-in-human clinical trial in Riga, Latvia, for peripheral vascular interventions. In October 2025, the company ACHieved a world-first transatlantic remote stroke thrombectomy on perfused human cadaver models from Florida to Dundee, Scotland. In September 2025, the Sentante stroke system received FDA Breakthrough Device designation. In December 2025, the company completed 24 remote live-subject thrombectomy procedures from three continents. In February 2026, Sentante was accepted into the FDA Total Product Life Cycle (TAP) Advisory Program. In 2026, preclinical results were published in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, demonstrating 100% technical success across 18 porcine endovascular procedures.

Company Profile (Updated April 2026)

Sentante (legal name: UAB Inovatyvi Medicina) is a medical robotics company headquartered in Kaunas, Lithuania. Founded in 2017, the company is developing the Sentante™ Endovascular Robotic System, a fully teleoperated, haptic robotic platform designed to enAble clinicians to perform complex endovascular procedures remotely with authentic tactile feedback. Unlike joystick-controlled surgical robots, Sentante translates the physician's hand movements into precise robotic actions and feeds back real-time tactile resistance, recreating the experience of manual surgery.

The platform is device-agnostic, compatible with standard off-the-shelf guidewires (0.014" to 0.035") and catheters (2Fr to 8Fr), and can control up to three devices simultaneously. It is designed to integrate with existing catheterization laboratory infrastructure, allowing the clinical team to remain outside the procedure room in a radiation-free environment. The system supports peripheral vascular, neurovascular, cardiovascular, and electrophysiology interventions.

Development History:

- 2017: Founded in Kaunas, Lithuania, by Dr. Tomas Baltrunas and Edvardas Satkauskas; early development under the name HAPGuide

- 2020: Featured by the European Commission for its "smart and sensing robotic system for endovascular interventions with haptic feedback"

- 2021.06: Secured $3.04 million grant funding

- 2023.06: Completed accelerator/incubator program

- 2023.12: Completed seed financing round

- 2024.06: Launched two EU co-funded R&D projects: (1) neurovascular intervention robotic system (€3.03M total, €2.0M EU funding); (2) remote-controlled digital inflator for endovascular instruments (€1.13M total, €0.87M EU funding)

- 2024.07: Completed first-in-human clinical trial at Paula Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital in Riga, Latvia; peripheral interventions (balloon angioplasty, stent delivery, embolization) performed by Prof. Dainis Krievins using the Sentante robotic system with 100% technical success

- 2025.09: Received FDA Breakthrough Device designation for the Sentante stroke system for remote mechanical thrombectomy in acute ischemic stroke

- 2025.10: Achieved world-first transatlantic remote stroke thrombectomy on perfused human cadaver models at the University of Dundee, Scotland, performed by Dr. Ricardo Hanel from Jacksonville, Florida

- 2025.11: Partnered with Ericsson (Mischa Dohler, VP of Emerging Technologies) and the Nvidia Inception Program to establish multi-path connectivity and low-latency robotic applications for mission-critical remote procedures

- 2025.12: Completed multi-day GLP live-subject study involving 24 remote thrombectomy procedures conducted from three sites (Orlando, Florida; Dundee, Scotland; Vilnius, Lithuania) on live animal subjects at the Veranex facility in Paris

- 2026.02: Accepted into the FDA Total Product Life Cycle (TAP) Advisory Program for the Sentante stroke system, providing early, frequent, and strategic engagement with the FDA across the full product lifecycle

- 2026: Preclinical study published in Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology demonstrating 100% technical success across 18 endovascular procedures in a porcine model with near-zero operator radiation exposure

Core Mission: To expand access to life-saving vascular care, improve clinician safety by eliminating radiation exposure and physical strain, and elevate procedural consistency across peripheral vascular, neurovascular, and cardiovascular applications through haptic remote robotics.

Core Product: Sentante™ Endovascular Robotic System

System Architecture

- Remote Workstation: Located outside the procedure room, providing intuitive guidewire and catheter controls, live imaging, and a radiation-free, ergonomic workspace

- Robotic Bedside Unit: At the patient's bedside, precisely mirroring the physician's hand movements — advancing, rotating, and retracting endovascular devices

- Sentacles (Disposable Sterile Cassettes): Single-use cassettes ensuring a sterile interface with standard off-the-shelf endovascular devices

Key Capabilities

- Haptic Force Feedback: Authentic tactile resistance transmitted directly to the surgeon's fingertips; motion scaling removes tremors; real-time intraoperative data supports clinical decisions

- Device-Agnostic Compatibility: Supports standard guidewires (0.014"–0.035") and catheters (2Fr–8Fr); no proprietary instruments required

- Multi-Device Control: Up to three devices controlled simultaneously with Device LOCK mode for enhanced stability

- Radiation Protection: Eliminates operator and staff exposure to harmful X-rays; no lead aprons required

- Remote Operation: Enables procedures from another room, building, or city (extended-distance operation under development and pending regulatory validation)

Clinical Applications

- Peripheral Vascular: Aortoiliac occlusions, renovascular disease, iliac aneurysms, dissections, femoro-popliteal, and below-the-knee interventions

- Neurovascular (Stroke): Remote mechanical thrombectomy for large-vessel occlusion acute ischemic stroke

- Cardiovascular & Electrophysiology: Expanding platform capabilities

Clinical Evidence

ESSENTIAL Clinical Trial (NCT06537947)

- Design: First-in-human trial for peripheral vascular interventions

- Location: Paula Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital, Riga, Latvia

- Principal Investigator: Prof. Dainis Krievins, MD, PhD

- Results: 100% technical success; 0% radiation exposure to staff; 0 operation compilation

Preclinical Porcine Study (Published 2026)

- Procedures: 18 endovascular interventions including renal artery stenting, embolization, PTA of the superior mesenteric artery, vertebral artery stenting, and iliac artery procedures

- Outcomes: 100% completion without manual conversion; compatibility with standard guidewires (0.014", 0.018", 0.035"), catheters (2.7–8 Fr), and pushable coils; no vessel injury on angiography; minimal vessel trauma in 3 of 16 target vessels on necropsy; haptic feedback rated "very good" or "fair"

- Publication: Cardiovascular and Interventional Radiology, 2026

Transatlantic Remote Stroke Demonstrations

- October 2025 (Cadaver): World-first transatlantic remote thrombectomy on perfused human cadaver models from Florida to Dundee, Scotland, with 120-millisecond latency

- December 2025 (Live Subject): 24 remote thrombectomy procedures on live animal subjects in Paris, controlled from Orlando, Dundee, and Vilnius; control switched between sites in less than one minute

Regulatory Milestones

- FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (Peripheral Vascular): Expedited review for peripheral vascular applications

- FDA Breakthrough Device Designation (Stroke System): September 2025; for remote delivery and manipulation of endovascular devices for thrombus removal in acute ischemic stroke

- FDA TAP Program: February 2026; selected for Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program providing strategic FDA engagement across clinical development, regulatory strategy, market entry, and post-market evidence generation

- EU Funding: Two Horizon Europe / EU co-funded R&D projects active through June 2026

Strategic Partnerships

- Ericsson: Multi-path connectivity partnership with Mischa Dohler (VP of Emerging Technologies) to maintain stable, secure network for mission-critical remote procedures

- Nvidia Inception Program: Utilizing state-of-the-art technologies for healthcare robots, supporting low-latency robotic applications and future autonomous robotic systems

- Veranex: Preclinical research facility in Paris for live-subject studies

- University of Dundee / IGTRF: Image Guided Therapy Research Facility for transatlantic remote procedure demonstrations

- Paula Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital (Riga): First-in-human clinical trial site

Financial Performance & Funding

Funding History

- Grant (December 2019): $55.5K

- Grant (June 2021): $3.04M

- Accelerator/Incubator (June 2023): Completed program

- Seed Round (December 2023): Completed

- Total Funding Raised: Approximately $7.11 million

Key Investors

- Practica Capital: Venture capital investor

- MedTech Innovator: Global accelerator and competition

- European Innovation Council Fund: EU-backed deep tech investor

- Horizon 2020 SME Instrument: EU grant funding

Company Overview

Corporate Information

Legal Name: UAB Inovatyvi Medicina (operating as Sentante)

Founded: 2017

Headquarters: Kaunas, Lithuania

Company Type: Privately held

Industry: Medical Robotics / Endovascular Robotics / Telemedicine

Employees: 22 (per PitchBook)

Website: sentante.com

Email: info@sentante.com

Leadership Team

Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer: Edvardas Satkauskas

- Leads corporate strategy, investor relations, and global commercial vision

Co-Founder & Chief Medical Officer: Dr. Tomas Baltrunas

- Vascular surgeon; oversees clinical development, regulatory strategy, and medical affairs

Competitive Landscape

- Corindus (Siemens Healthineers): CorPath GRX robotic platform for cardiovascular interventions

- Robocath: R-One robotic platform for coronary angioplasty

- Stereotaxis: Magnetic navigation systems for electrophysiology and endovascular procedures

- CMR Surgical (Versius): Laparoscopic surgical robotics

- Intuitive Surgical (da Vinci): Minimally invasive surgical robotics (different domain)

Competitive Advantages

- Haptic Feedback: Only endovascular robotic system providing authentic force feedback directly to the surgeon's fingertips, not joystick control

- Device Agnostic: Compatible with standard off-the-shelf catheters and guidewires; no proprietary consumables required

- Radiation Protection: Complete elimination of operator and staff radiation exposure

- Remote Capability: Proven transatlantic remote operation with near-real-time tactile feedback

- Multi-Domain Platform: Single platform serving peripheral vascular, neurovascular, cardiovascular, and electrophysiology applications

- FDA Recognition: Only endovascular robotic system with FDA Breakthrough Device designation and TAP program acceptance for stroke care

2026 Strategic Outlook

- Peripheral Vascular Commercialization: Pursue regulatory clearance and commercial launch for peripheral vascular indications in international markets

- Stroke Clinical Trials: Advance through FDA TAP engagement toward first-in-human remote stroke thrombectomy studies under IDE

- EU Project Completion: Finalize neurovascular robotic system and remote-controlled digital inflator R&D projects by June 2026

- Network Infrastructure: Continue partnership with Ericsson to validate multi-path connectivity for clinical-grade remote procedures

- Clinical Evidence Generation: Publish additional peer-reviewed data from first-in-human and preclinical studies to support regulatory submissions and adoption

Contact Information

Global Headquarters

Address: Kaunas, Lithuania

Email: info@sentante.com

Website: sentante.com

Clinical Trial Site

Paula Stradiņš Clinical University Hospital

Address: Riga, Latvia

Principal Investigator: Prof. Dainis Krievins, MD, PhD

Keywords: Sentante, Inovatyvi Medicina, endovascular robotics, remote surgery, haptic feedback, teleoperation, stroke thrombectomy, mechanical thrombectomy, peripheral vascular, neurovascular, cardiovascular, cath lab, radiation protection, Edvardas Satkauskas, Tomas Baltrunas, Kaunas, Lithuania, FDA Breakthrough Device, TAP, ESSENTIAL trial, NCT06537947, Ericsson, Nvidia, Veranex, University of Dundee, Horizon 2020, European Innovation Council