Venus Concept ARTAS iX

The ARTAS iX is a robotic hair restoration system that harvests follicular units, creates recipient sites and implants grafts. Restoration Robotics developed the ARTAS line and later merged with Venus Concept, which now sells it. FDA clearance K173358, decided on March 16, 2018, added implantation to the existing ARTAS System, so the robot can make recipient sites and place harvested follicles one at a time. Restoration Robotics' annual report for 2018 says the ARTAS iX launched in the United States in the second half of that year. The clearance covers men with androgenic alopecia who have black or brown straight hair.

The clearance describes a robotic arm, an imaging subsystem, a needle mechanism, a computer and a patient chair. The FDA device database lists the ARTAS iX system and the ARTAS iX chair as separate items, with catalog numbers FP-45000 and FP-47000. Venus Concept's current product page, which now uses the name ARTAS iXi, describes a seven axis KUKA robotic arm, a stereoscopic camera system with 44 micron resolution, a touchscreen with 3D planning and a cart that weighs 400 pounds.

The earlier ARTAS System could harvest follicles and help create recipient sites, but implantation arrived with the iX. If the robot in your practice cannot implant, it is the earlier system. Check the name on the cart and the labels on both the cart and the chair, since the two pieces carry separate device identifiers.

ARTAS economics differ from most capital equipment. Venus Concept's annual report for 2019 describes procedure-based fees: customers bought harvests at a fixed price per harvest, with a minimum of 750, or paid a set price per procedure, and each procedure used one sterile and one non-sterile disposable kit. A buyer will want to know what procedure credits and unused kits remain, and how Venus Concept handles them after a sale. Include the service history, the software version, photos of both labels and the main screen, and a note on whether the chair is included.