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January 8, 2025

Mendaera Appoints Medical Robotics Leader Eric Davidson as Chief Commercial Officer

Media Inquiries

Michelle Stevens

Media@mendaera.com

SAN MATEO, Calif. – September 11, 2025 – Mendaera™, Inc., a healthcare technology company developing next-generation robotics technology to simplify ultrasound-guided needle procedures, today announced the world’s first procedures performed with the Focalist™ handheld robotic system. Urologist Karen Stern, M.D., (Mayo Clinic Arizona) successfully used Focalist to achieve precise kidney access during percutaneous nephrolithotomy (PCNL), the gold standard treatment for large kidney stones. Dr. Stern presented the milestone procedures at the World Conference on Endourology and Uro-Technology (WCET), a prestigious global meeting for surgeons advancing minimally invasive kidney stone treatment.

PCNL begins with the placement of a needle into the kidney under imaging guidance, creating a pathway for stone removal. This critical first step requires extreme precision to avoid surrounding organs and to enable optimal and effective stone clearance. Using Focalist, Dr. Stern and her team achieved rapid, efficient, and precise first-pass needle placement into the ideal kidney location.

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“I was thrilled to be the first in the world to use the Focalist System,” said Dr. Stern. “I found it intuitive to learn and easy to integrate into my workflow. Focalist enhances needle control and simplifies precise placement under ultrasound, particularly for operators with less experience. It has the potential to build confidence in ultrasound-guided access and lower the barrier to proficiency across providers with varying levels of experience.”

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The Focalist™ System combines handheld robotics, real-time ultrasound, and advanced software to enable precise, repeatable instrument placement. These first-in-the-world procedures mark the beginning of the limited U.S. launch of Focalist in urology, with expansion to additional specialties planned in 2026.

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“These first procedures underscore Focalist’s ability to deliver highly precise, consistent needle placement - a foundational requirement across all of medicine,” said Josh DeFonzo, co-founder and CEO of Mendaera. “We’re proud to partner with Dr. Stern as she pioneers ultrasound-guided access in urology. We believe Focalist will empower more healthcare providers to perform procedures with confidence. This milestone brings us closer to our mission of broadening access to minimally invasive procedures and elevating standards across the healthcare system.

The recorded case presentation by Dr. Stern will be available in the coming weeks on the WCET website.

About Mendaera‍

Mendaera is building a new category of handheld robotics designed to make precision more accessible across healthcare. With its Focalist™ System, combining real-time imaging with intuitive handheld robotic control, Mendaera supports clinicians in delivering consistent, high-quality care across a broad range of minimally invasive procedures and settings. Based in Silicon Valley, CA, the company is backed by leading investors and a leadership team with a track record of successful outcomes, including Auris Health.

Mendaera’s Focalist™ System has FDA clearance in the U.S. to provide guidance for precise instrument placement of common interventional devices by positioning the device relative to the ultrasound transducer and resulting image during diagnostic or therapeutic procedures. The system is intended for use with pediatric and adult patients. Learn more at Mendaera.com.

Be part of the next wave.

If you need another copy of the Instructions for Use (IFU) for your Focalist™ System, we’re happy to help. As a reminder, the IFU was originally provided via email at the time of purchase.

If you’d like an additional copy, please contact our Customer Care team at customercare@mendaera.com, and we’ll be glad to provide it.

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January 8, 2025

Mendaera Appoints Medical Robotics Leader Eric Davidson as Chief Commercial Officer

Michelle Stevens

Media Inquiries

Media@mendaera.com

The platform combines real-time ultrasound with a robotic arm to increase the precision of common needle-based procedures, while reducing the costs of care delivery and supporting better patient outcomes

Mendaera, Inc., a healthcare technology company, announced it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 510(k) clearance for its handheld robotics platform which combines real-time ultrasound imaging with a robotic arm designed to help clinicians place needles for common procedures more precisely and consistently. Mendaera’s technology is cleared for commercial use in all ultrasound-guided needle-based procedures, with an initial rollout in urology.

In the United States, an estimated 200 million needle-based procedures are performed annually. However, just 20% of providers perform the majority of these interventions, in part due to the complexity of mastering the required skillset. With traditional freehand techniques, even experienced specialists achieve only a 37% first-stick accuracy rate, which means health systems often need to rely on only the most experienced specialists to perform needle-based procedures. This, in turn, can increase the cost of care delivery, lead to critical levels of provider burnout, and to delays in patient care.

“Surgical robots have long been confined to the operating room due to size and cost, limiting their widespread adoption,” said Josh DeFonzo, Co-founder and CEO of Mendaera. “With Mendaera’s FDA clearance, higher-frequency procedures – like biopsies, nerve blocks, and placing catheters – can be performed in a diversity of care settings, allowing healthcare systems to improve the quality of care and deliver it more efficiently.”
Mendaera’s provider-guided robot attaches to an ultrasound probe, freeing up the other hand to choose a target by tapping it on a touchscreen. The robot then calculates the optimal trajectory and depth of the needle, compensating for patient and provider motion, and when the provider is ready, they deploy the robot to insert the needle.
Early studies demonstrate the system’s significant impact on precision, with novice providers improving first-attempt success rates from 12% to 73% and experienced providers improving  from 37% to 83%. 
"Inserting an instrument into a patient using ultrasound has long been akin to finding a needle in a haystack,” said Jason Wilson, Ph.D., Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer of Mendaera. “Mendaera’s combination of handheld robotics and features like anatomy recognition, instrument depth tracking, and telepresence are designed to empower clinicians of all skill levels to confidently achieve first-stick success, freeing experienced specialists for the most intricate cases where their expertise is indispensable."
The Mendaera system will initially be rolled out to support the treatment of Percutaneous Nephrolithotomy (PCNL), which requires a minimally invasive procedure to remove kidney stones. Due to wide variations in individual kidney shape and anatomy and the need to precisely locate the kidney’s collection site, this procedure requires meticulous technique and experience to avoid damaging surrounding tissues.

“There is an immediate need for technology that can improve the accuracy and efficiency of common urological procedures like PCNL,” said [Dr. Stern/Chi] “By incorporating robotics like Mendaera, we can have a significant and immediate impact on healthcare system operations and increase positive patient outcomes.”
The company also plans to expand its platform’s application to other areas, such as interventional radiology, emergency medicine, and anesthesia.

For more information, please visit www.mendaera.com

About Mendaera

Mendaera’s vision is to digitize clinical judgment and technical expertise, making high-quality care available for every patient at every care facility. Its FDA-cleared platform combines robotics, real-time imaging, and connectivity to enable intervention at scale. Based in Silicon Valley, Mendaera is backed by leading investors and includes a leadership team successful in taking early-stage medical technology companies through to successful exits including Auris Health.

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Mendaera Appoints Medical Robotics Leader Eric Davidson as Chief Commercial Officer

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January 8, 2025

Media@mendaera.com

Pivotal commercial team hires further Mendaera’s readiness for commercialization

SAN MATEO, CA (January 9, 2025) – Mendaera Inc., a healthcare technology company creating a first-of-its-kind handheld robotic platform to revolutionize the delivery of prevalent interventional procedures, today announced the appointment of Eric Davidson as its first Chief Commercial Officer (CCO). Davidson will lead commercialization efforts as the company prepares for market entry with its novel robotic technologies.

Davidson joins Mendaera with more than two decades of leadership in medical robotics and disruptive healthcare technologies. During nine years at Intuitive Surgical, Davidson held key leadership roles in marketing and product strategy, contributing to the evolution and global success of the da Vinci Surgical System. Following Intuitive, Davidson served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Auris Health and played an important role in its acquisition for up to $5.8 billion by Johnson and Johnson (J&J). Post-acquisition, Eric helped integrate the Auris robotic technology into J&J MedTech and later served as President of its Flexible Robotics division, leading more than 500 employees and managing the P&L.

Most recently, Davidson served as President and COO of Eko Health, a company at the forefront of AI-powered digital health innovation. At Eko, he advanced disruptive technologies aimed at bringing transformative solutions to detecting cardiovascular disease. Earlier in his career, Davidson gained foundational experience in sales and marketing at Stryker. Davidson’s career arc provides him with a unique perspective and a comprehensive understanding of building and implementing commercial operations at disruptive medical technology companies from the ground up.

As CCO for Mendaera, Davidson will lead marketing, communications, sales, and training functions, driving the company’s go-to-market strategy to ensure the successful commercialization of Mendaera’s robotic platform and its global adoption across healthcare specialties and service lines.

“We are excited to welcome Eric Davidson to the Mendaera leadership team,” said Josh DeFonzo, CEO and co-founder of Mendaera. “Eric’s proven ability to lead and grow high-performing teams, coupled with his deep expertise driving growth of disruptive technologies, will be instrumental as we pioneer a new category in healthcare robotics and prepare for significant market impact.”

“I am thrilled to join Mendaera and its impressive team at this transformative time for the company and in healthcare,” said Davidson. “Mendaera’s robotic technology will arrive as healthcare systems face worsening labor challenges and seek solutions that can support providers and enhance access to care. I look forward to helping build a world-class organization that can deliver these crucial solutions to healthcare providers and patients.”

Davidson joins a growing commercial team including JT Martinez, VP, Operations and Customer Success. Martinez has a deep background in medical robotics and previously led Support Services for Auris Health and then for J&J’s Robotics & Digital Surgery Division (after it acquired Auris Health). Martinez later became VP, Global Customer Success for J&J’s Ethicon Division. Prior to J&J, Martinez spent nine years at Intuitive Surgical, where he led the Global Customer Care team.

Building upon additional recent growth milestones including close of its $73M Series B financing, partnership with ultrasound company EchoNous, and acquisition of Avail telepresence technology, these key leadership additions further position Mendaera to transform patient care with cutting-edge robotic solutions.

About Mendaera

Mendaera’s vision is to digitize clinical judgment and technical expertise to improve access to care and optimize its delivery. Its platform in development combines robotics, real-time imaging, artificial intelligence, and connectivity, to enable intervention at scale. Based in Silicon Valley, Mendaera is backed by leading investors including Threshold, Lux Capital, Founders Fund, Operator Partners, and PFM Health Sciences. Mendaera's robotic system has not been cleared by the FDA and is not for sale.

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View release on Business Wire

Media Contact

Michelle Stevens

Director, Marketing Communications

Media@mendaera.com

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Be part of the next wave.

If you need another copy of the Instructions for Use (IFU) for your Focalist™ System, we’re happy to help. As a reminder, the IFU was originally provided via email at the time of purchase.

If you’d like an additional copy, please contact our Customer Care team at customercare@mendaera.com, and we’ll be glad to provide it.

Thank you! Your request has been received!

Back to the Form

Oops! Something went wrong while submitting the form.

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Indications for Use: The system provides guidance for precise instrument placement of common interventional devices by positioning the device relative to the ultrasound transducer and the resulting image during a diagnostic or therapeutic procedure. This guidance system is intended for use with pediatric and adult patients.

Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician

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