The American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) hosted its 2023 International Meeting, from July 8-12, 2023, in Montreal, Canada. The prestigious event is the largest international gathering of head and neck surgeons in the world, and only occurs once every three years. The invitation-only Shark Tank competition featured three emergent companies exploring technology with the potential to advance head and neck procedures, and brought them before a “panel of innovators, investors and skeptics” to describe their systems and the ways that they propose to change the field of Head and Neck surgery for the better.

In recognition of the quality of the pitch and the potential that Galen Robotics can offer to the surgeon community, Galen CEO Bruce Lichorowic was granted the Gold Shark Tank Award at the conclusion of the event on July 11, an event that marked the first time that Galen technology has been compared to other robotics platforms in a public forum. While surgical robotics has thus far largely focused on a select few target indications that maximize potential reimbursement, Galen hopes to bring the benefits of robotic augmentation to an underserved indication, exploring the possible improvements to both the surgeon experience and the patient’s standard of care.