Can robotic artificial intelligence improve hair restoration?

Adult men and women will naturally encounter changes in hair thickness and density with age. This process of hair loss is known as adult alopecia and varies by individual. Researchers have definitively linked most cases of adult-onset alopecia to normal aging, genetics and overall health.

For those patients experiencing alopecia, clinicians usually recommend a medical evaluation by a board-certified plastic surgeon who is an ASPS member to assess the causes of hair loss. If your physician finds no disease-related conditions affecting hair growth, he or she may recommend a procedure known as a hair restoration.

During hair restoration, surgeons harvest individual hair follicles from one area of the scalp and transplant them to other areas that are experiencing hair loss. It is very common to remove healthy hair follicles from the back of the head and transplant these hair follicles to the hairline and crown through a process known as follicular unit extraction (FUE).

Advancements in robotic technology and artificial intelligence have further improved the results of FUE hair transplantation by more accurately harvesting and implanting hair follicles during a hair transplant. These revolutionary processes allow experts to optimize results and improve efficiency.

What is robotic hair restoration?

Robotic hair restoration was developed in Silicon Valley and uses artificial intelligence to enable a laser-guided robot to extract individual hair follicles and then transplant those hair follicles to physician-guided hairline designs.

In the past, the extraction of hair was performed by removing a strip of the scalp and moving it to the balding area in a procedure known as follicular unit transplantation (FUT), or manually extracting individual hair follicles using hand-held tools and moving them to the balding area of the scalp.

What is the robotic hair restoration system called?

The ARTAS® system was developed as a collaboration of physicians, robotic engineers and software developers to facilitate and optimize the harvesting and implantation of hair follicles in the scalp. There are over 190 patents related to the design and manufacturing of the equipment, which is used by advanced hair restoration experts worldwide.

How does artificial intelligence play a role in robotic hair restoration?

Artificial intelligence allows the robotic device to assess the position, angle, orientation and density of hair follicles from the donor and recipient areas. In doing so, it allows stereoscopic mapping of the scalp so that the hair follicles are best preserved during the harvesting of hair and the transplantation of the follicles.

Both a physician and technician work alongside the device to optimize functionality and to implement the accuracy and reproducibility of results. The goal of the artificial intelligence system is to improve the precision of hair transplantation techniques.

Robotic hair transplantation uses technology to facilitate the process of removing donor hair and transplanting it back into the scalp. It is not necessarily a faster or quicker type of procedure, but one that minimizes variability by standardizing how the implants are removed, sorted and implanted back into the hairline.

Is everyone with hair loss a candidate for hair transplantation?

If you are experiencing hair loss as an adult, there are many factors that influence the rate and severity of the problem. Your medical history, family history of hair loss and your age can affect how much hair you have as an adult.

A hair transplant surgeon will determine your treatment options based on whether you have enough donor hair to transplant or if it is a better idea to undergo less invasive treatment for hair stimulation.

Can the robot do the hair transplantation alone?

Robotic hair transplantation is an evolving technology that is being utilized in modern medicine. The company that produces the first and only robotic AI machine, known as ARTAS®, continues to develop the technology to further optimize results.

Currently, the robotic technology works alongside a physician to remove donor hair and re-implant it in the hairline. The physician will continue to make decisions on the candidacy of a patient, the amount of hair to be removed and transplanted plus the distribution of the hair along the hairline and scalp.

As these technologies evolve, we will continue to see growth in hair transplantation techniques as the methods move from purely surgical options to less invasive approaches that utilize technology to plan and implement the procedure. Robotic hair transplantation is currently being used in practice and will continue to be a valuable addition to the arsenal of options available for hair restoration.

*Peter Laimins, MD, and Levon Karamanoukian contributed to this blog