$31.1m ARPA-H funding for Siemens endovascular robotics

The Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) has awarded Siemens Healthineers up to $31.1 million over five years to accelerate the development of autonomous, remote, endovascular robotics.

Siemens Healthineers believes a combination of endovascular robotics, image guidance, and dedicated devices will significantly impact how neurovascular procedures will be performed in the future. Autonomous remote endovascular robotics for acute stroke treatment is under development, but is not commercially available.

With a focus on neurovascular robotics, Siemens’ technology is designed to enable robots to perform long-distance treatment of acute ischaemic stroke through mechanical thrombectomy without direct human input.

Mechanical thrombectomy is a minimally invasive procedure that removes a blood clot from a blocked blood vessel in the brain to restore blood flow following an acute ischaemic stroke. When performed promptly, it can significantly improve patient outcomes and reduce the risk of long-term disability.

Today, the procedure is almost exclusively available in comprehensive stroke centres – which means that large parts of the population are excluded from access. According to the ARPA-H, in the US, more than half of the population lives over an hour from a thrombectomy-capable clinic, and only an estimated 12% of 335,000 eligible stroke patients receive mechanical thrombectomy each year.

The funding is part of the ARPA-H Autonomous Interventions and Robotics (AIR) program, led by ARPA-H program manager, Ileana Hancu. Siemens Healthineers will contribute $5.4 million as a cost share over the course of the project, bringing the total combined investment in autonomous remote endovascular robotics development to as much as $36.5 million.

Philipp Fischer, head of advanced therapies at Siemens Healthineers, commented: “The ARPA-H investment is a big step in advancing autonomous remote endovascular robotics for the benefit of patients and communities around the world.”

Under the award, Stryker is acting as a sub-awardee, further advancing the strategic partnership established by the two companies in 2025 to accelerate innovation in robotic neurovascular interventions.