By Tim Ryan
Hubly Surgical, a 757 Accelerate alumni, recently announced its FDA 510k clearance for the Hubly Drill, a groundbreaking medical technology designed to make burr hole procedures safer and more efficient, even outside of the operating room. Burr hole surgery is a prerequisite for accessing the brain in patients suffering from traumatic brain injuries, hydrocephalus, ruptured aneurysms, strokes, subdural hematomas, epilepsy, Parkinson’s, and brain cancers or tumors. Despite being performed frequently in emergency situations, current bedside procedures rely on outdated devices lacking safety and efficiency features.
Dr. Matthew Potts, a Cerebrovascular Neurosurgeon and Assistant Professor at Northwestern, acknowledged the issues with existing hand-cranked drills and expressed excitement for Hubly’s improved intracranial drill. The Hubly Drill is the first cordless single-use cranial drill with advanced features to address the challenges of bedside cranial access. Founder and CEO Casey Grage stated, “Essentially we are bringing the precision of the operating room, which physicians are accustomed to, to the bedside.”
Key innovations include SMART Auto-Stop with a proprietary drill bit designed to reduce over-plunge, a common problem with current standard practices. The drill also features a first-of-its-kind LED Force Indicator that changes color based on force, enhancing user control.
Grage believes that integrating the Hubly Drill into workflows will provide significant value by reducing operating room reliance, increasing bedside access, and lowering hospital costs. Founded in 2019, Hubly Surgical aims to improve patient outcomes and quality of care for surgical procedures, starting with bedside cranial surgery. The company envisions the Hubly Drill becoming the standard of care for bedside cranial access, turning lethal complications into “never events.”
