MRIs are a phenomenal asset for surgeons to use; however, the limitations of the technology cannot be brushed off. Consider surgeons working with such machines as having the machines act as assistants for them in their operations. Such a current process entails positioning the patient into some machine just to get some image, then removing said patient from the machine to continue advancing the needle one centimeter at a time. It only takes so long and feels as though it is a pretty inefficient use of resources.

Creating a new chapter in minimally invasive surgery, the Bay Area–based MDC believes robotics is the answer. Incontestably, robotics certainly represent the future of surgery but pose unique challenges in its application. Traditional robotics carry many components that cannot, of course, function within an MRI.

The challenge of MDC, then, was to come up with a robotic system that could function inside a patient undergoing MRI without depending on electric motors, rare earth metals, and other elements that would inhibit the operation of the imaging machine.

This is work based on research the young startup did during its founder and CEO Sam Frishman's time at John Hopkins and Stanford. According to Frishman, the solution is "high stiffness, low friction hydraulic transmissions and actuators." The system is powered by water and tethered to the outside of the MRI through a tube.

Our system has a few differentiators, Frishman tells TechCrunch. One is the ability to have really dexterous control directly by the physician. They're controlling the needle, whether it's positioning, advancing, actuating-it's like they're holding it in their hand.

MDC is targeting biopsies and ablations in its initial offering. The CEO says those minimally invasive procedures are just the start.

"Really, it's enabling new capabilities that are beyond what is possible today," says Frishman. "That's where the digitization, the power assist, the guidance through AI and all of the data we gather, you start having beyond human capabilities added, though the physician is still fully in control and making all of the decisions."

MDC is a graduate of SOSV's HAX accelerator from last year and pitched onstage today in Startup Battlefield at Disrupt. The firm has so far raised $1.2 million in pre-seed funding.