The Memo: MicroSteer Targeting Complex Colorectal Lesions with Robotic Precision

 Under the direction of CEO Eyal Ben Esti, MicroSteer is pioneering an add-on device that transforms how physicians remove complex colorectal lesions. By decoupling dissection control from the endoscope, the company’s robotic, single-use system aims to make advanced therapeutic endoscopy safer, faster, and accessible to far more physicians. Based in Israel and leveraging the country’s medtech innovation ecosystem, MicroSteer is initially targeting the U.S. market before expanding into Europe and Asia.

Origin Story

MicroSteer was founded to address a critical bottleneck in the treatment of colorectal lesions, a leading cause of cancer-related deaths worldwide. “The current standard for removing large or flat GI polyps is prone to high complication rates, requires significant specialist expertise, and frequently results in costly surgical referrals,” said Ben Esti.

Co-founders Adi Strauss (CTO) and Ofer Pillar (CBO) envisioned a solution that blends innovative mechanics, robotics, and AI-based guidance to democratize access to advanced GI lesion management. Their early prototype excelled in preclinical trials, with the singular aim of making advanced therapeutic endoscopy accessible to all GI physicians, not just the highly skilled few.

Ben Esti joined MicroSteer to help translate its breakthrough technology toward clinical and commercial reality. “What drew me to MicroSteer was the team’s unique chemistry, the clear unmet need in GI oncology, and the company’s novel technology, which has the potential to reshape the risk, complexity, and cost structure of GI cancer prevention and care,” he said.

The Current Landscape

Colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer mortality. Of over 60 million colonoscopies performed worldwide each year, 27 million detect lesions, and approximately eight million of these (~30%) are considered too complex for conventional endoscopic removal. “This gap leads to unnecessary open surgeries and complications, which are costly, dangerous, and with protracted recovery,” said Ben Esti, noting that these events cost health systems more than $4 billion annually.

“Current endoscopic procedures require highly skilled operators to manipulate the colonoscope in order to control the dissection knife,” Ben Esti explained. “It is a complex, high-risk process that often leads to adverse events such as perforation or incomplete lesion removal.” While advanced resection techniques, such as endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD), are effective, they’re underutilized in Western countries due to steep learning curves and high risk profiles.

Inside the Innovation

MicroSteer’s add-on device attaches seamlessly to existing endoscopes and provides robotic, electrically controlled precision for knife movement. “We are decoupling instrument control from scope manipulation,” said Ben Esti. “This enables safer, faster, and more consistent resections by physicians with much less training, making previously ‘unresectable’ cases treatable endoscopically safely.”

This blog is originally published here: https://www.lifesciencemarketresearch.com/insights/the-memo-microsteer-targeting-complex-colorectal-lesions-with-robotic-precision