Levita Magnetics Celebrates 1,000 Surgeries with Its FDA-Cleared MARS System, Marking a Milestone in Minimally Invasive Surgery

Stanford University Hospital Surgeon performs the landmark 1,000th procedure using the company's innovative magnetic technology

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Levita Magnetics, a leader in innovation and advanced surgical technology, today announced a major milestone: Surgeons have now successfully completed more than 1,000 procedures using the company's MARS® (Magnetic-Assisted Robotic Surgery) System. The 1,000th procedure was performed last week by Dr. Brian Ruhle, clinical assistant professor at Stanford University School of Medicine, who used the system to perform a gastric bypass, retracting the liver magnetically to enhance visualization and minimize invasiveness.

"Reaching this milestone is extraordinarily meaningful because it represents real patients who have benefited from this innovative surgical approach," said Dr. Ruhle, who performed the surgery at Stanford Health Care – Stanford University Medical Center. "The MARS System is a true enhancement of laparoscopic surgery that provides greater visual control and expands our operative capability, creating opportunities for enhanced efficiency in the OR. I believe this technology offers benefits for both straightforward and more complex laparoscopic operations."

The MARS System, powered by Levita's proprietary Dynamic Magnetic Positioning™ technology, is the only FDA-cleared platform using magnets to retract organs and soft tissue during many types of laparoscopic procedures. By eliminating the need for additional incisions, MARS enables a less invasive approach that helps patients recover faster, experience less pain, and achieve better cosmetic results.

A Track Record of Innovation and Expansion

The 1,000th surgery at Stanford builds on a series of pioneering cases performed with the MARS System across leading hospitals in the U.S. and Latin America. The milestone is the latest chapter in Levita Magnetics' mission to make surgery less invasive and more effective for patients worldwide. In the last two years, the company's MARS System has seen rapid clinical adoption and expanded indications across multiple specialties and geographies:

• World's First Commercial Use (October 2023):
  Surgeons Prof. Matthew Kroh and Dr. Andrew Strong at Cleveland Clinic performed the world's first commercial MARS procedures shortly after FDA clearance.
• First International Deployment (December 2023):
  MARS was introduced at Hospital Luis Tisne in Santiago, Chile, the first of many of the system's deployments in that country.
• First Ever Augmented Reality Abdominal Surgery (March 2024)
  Surgeons used MARS and an AR headset in Chile to perform the first ever augmented reality abdominal surgery, paving the way for AI-enhanced digital surgery and global telesurgery. (The AR headset is an investigational device and is not cleared for clinical use or for sale in the US.)
• First Private Hospital Deployment (April 2024):
  MARS expanded beyond public and academic medical centers with its first deployment at a private hospital in Texas, where Dr. Chad Carlton successfully performed both a gastric bypass and a sleeve gastrectomy on the same day, demonstrating the system's versatility in routine clinical practice.
• First Robotic Surgery using Dual Systems (November 2024)
  For the first time, the MARS System was used alongside the Da Vinci Single Port Robotic System, combining magnetic-assisted and robotic technologies to enhance surgical precision and expand the possibilities of minimally invasive care.
• Expanded FDA Clearance (June 2025):
  The FDA expanded the MARS System's indications to include hiatal hernia repair and cleared Levita's new 12.5 mm magnetic grasper—enabling surgeons to treat more complex abdominal procedures, improve visualization in patients with obesity, and further reduce the invasiveness of bariatric and hernia surgeries.

Transforming Minimally Invasive Surgery

With each case, Levita's technology continues to expand the boundaries of minimally invasive surgery: helping surgeons adopt less invasive approaches across a growing range of surgeries including bariatric, colorectal, cholecystectomy, colorectal, prostatectomy, and hiatal hernia procedures.

"We are proud to reach this milestone alongside the surgeons and hospitals who share our mission of improving patient outcomes through surgical innovation," said Dr. Alberto Rodriguez-Navarro, minimally invasive surgeon and founder and CEO of Levita Magnetics. "This is just the beginning of what's possible. With MARS, we are fundamentally rethinking how surgeries are performed making them less invasive, more efficient, and better for patients and surgeons alike. Our magnetic technology is a paradigm shift in how surgeons can perform less invasive procedures and MARS is demonstrating to be a game-changer for many different specialties."

With many surgical systems in use in private and public hospitals and ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs) across the U.S. and in Chile, Levita Magnetics is poised for continued global expansion. As demand grows for less invasive, cost-effective surgical solutions, the company is opening new opportunities to bring magnetic-assisted robotic surgery to hospitals and health systems worldwide—transforming care delivery and improving outcomes for patients everywhere.

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Tim Gray
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About Levita Magnetics

Levita Magnetics is a Silicon Valley-based medical device company pioneering minimally invasive platforms that use magnetics to improve surgical precision while reducing invasiveness. Its flagship MARS system provides surgeons with enhanced control and visualization while minimizing the trauma of traditional surgery. The MARS platform, when used in combination with Levita's Magnetic Surgical System (MSS), is FDA-cleared for gallbladder, bariatric, prostate, colorectal, and hiatal hernia procedures. Together, MARS and MSS enable less invasive, more controlled abdominal surgeries by combining Dynamic Magnetic Positioning with advanced instrumentation.

SOURCE Levita Magnetics