What Is Robotic Hair Restoration?

In the minds of some patients, perhaps the term “robotic hair restoration” conjures up images more likely to appear in a science fiction novel than a hair restoration clinic. In reality, a robotic hair restoration simply means that a Follicular Unit Extraction (FUE) is performed with the assistance of some kind of automated tool or system. Some robotic hair restoration procedures utilize both automated tools and systems, but in each one of these procedures it is still necessary for a hair restoration doctor and hair transplant technicians to manually intervene despite the presence of automation.

Hair restoration procedures that feature the use of automated systems include NeoGraft and SmartGraft, among several others. In these types of procedures, the hair transplant surgeon might use an automated pneumatic tool to remove the individual follicular units for transplantation into the donor site. It is also possible for the hair transplant doctor to incorporate a refrigerated system capable of storing the grafts in between the time they are removed from the donor site and transplanted into the recipient site.

Some of the limitations with automated or robotic FUE systems include a higher transection rate which results in damage to the harvested hair grafts/follicles and limitation on the number of grafts that can be transplanted per session.

These automated systems and tools are designed to protect the follicular units from damage at the various points in the transplant process in which the risk of damage is most likely. This helps to maximize the total yield of follicles that can be successfully transplanted from the donor site, but the skilled and experienced surgeon does not necessarily require such tools or systems to ensure there will be more than enough donor tissue available to achieve the coverage and density being sought by the patient. There is NO replacement for an experienced and skilled hair transplant team.