What is the Difference Between Regular FUE and Robotic FUE?

Currently there is only one FDA approved robot in the world, the Artas system. Our office uses the most up-to-date version which allows for the robot to obtain grafts and make donor sites. The goal with hair transplantation is to obtain hairs from one location and transfer to another location. For this to be successful, the hair root and surrounding tissue needs to intact.

Regular FUE (Follicular Unit Exchange) is where a handheld drill is used to obtain each individual hair. Users will use loupe magnification to anticipate where the hair is for its removal. While this technique seems easy, subtle variations in angulation of the hair are often difficult for the eye to detect and certain percentage of grafts are transected. Transected grafts are not implantable.

Artas allows for complex algorithms from not just hundreds but thousands of cases to be compiled to create an improved ability to remove hair grafts using stereoscopic vision. The robot is not fatigable (never gets tired) and improves after each case with additional data and updates leading to less transections and better graft yield. In addition, hairs should only be taken in the proper phase of the growth cycle. If hairs are taken in the wrong phase of the growth cycle, hairs will likely not “take” in the other area. The Artas can recognize this better than the human eye allowing for not just less transections, but grafts which are more likely to physiologically work.

The updated Artas will actually create donor sites based on complex algorithms to help determine where the best location of placement is due to angulation of hair and hair density. For example, you don’t want to lose your existing hair or have your transplanted hair not match your natural pattern. For regular FUE, the placement is all done by the naked eye.

While both regular FUE and Artas work, it is our opinion that Artas works better due to better graft yield and quality.

Artas and Neograft are the latest FUE advances. If performed correctly the results can be amazing.