Korean Scientists Develop Automatic Hair Transplant Machine

The technology successfully passed a clinical trial, and was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. (image: ETRI)

DAEJEON, Nov. 17 (Korea Bizwire) – Good news for those experiencing hair loss. 

A team of Korean scientists successfully developed an automatic hair transplant machine that is set for commercialization in 2017. 

According to ETRI (Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute) and Kyungpook National University Hospital, the technology allows for the consecutive transplant of 25 hair follicles at a time, reducing both the time and energy required in a hair transplant surgery.

A conventional operation by a doctor takes about 4 hours, during which the doctor’s arms move around one kilometer in distance, making the procedure highly physically demanding both for the practitioner and the patient. 

The new device, however, cuts the time down to roughly half, and requires only a 100-meter movement of the surgeon’s arms, said officials.

(image: ETRI)

Surgeons can control the speed of movement of the machine’s needles, and the machine can estimate the time required for surgery and the number of hair follicles and show the results on its display. Surgeons can also adjust the depth of the needles and the moving distance of the machine’s main apparatus, taking into consideration the condition of the patient’s scalp and the size of the hair follicles. 

The technology successfully passed a clinical trial, and was approved by the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. 

“In the past, doctors had to transplant some 2,000 hair follicles one at a time, which is a very fatiguing procedure, and often led to skeletomuscular diseases,” said KNUH doctor Kim Moon-kyu. “The new machine will be the solution to such problems.” 

ETRI plans on developing a hair transplant robot by giving the machine intelligence and further reducing the time of transplantation.

By Lina Jang (linajang@koreabizwire.com)