Africa Top Success Ils font l'Afrique
In 2012, the French, Bertin Nahum of Beninese origin, was classified fourth revolutionary entrepreneur in the world behind the Americans Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and James Cameron by the scientific magazine, Discovery Series. The man about whom press less talks in Africa, is nevertheless the inventor, since 2007, of a robot that assists surgeons during operations on brain.
« I may say it is a kind of GPS. Thanks to this machine, the surgeon is going to be able to exactly reach a zone of the brain and instead of making freehand operation, it is the arm of the robot that is going to act, explained the CEO. It can turn out very useful to put an electrode or realize the puncture of a tumor« , he continued.
Rosa, the robot by the Beninese that costs 300.000 euros, is operational in more than about fifteen hospitals in the world. In spite of the success it meets, the invention by Bertin Nahum, it has difficulty to penetrate French market.
« As many innovative companies, we have difficulty being recognized in France. Very often, it is necessary to pass through foreign countries in order to convince France« , he explained. In spite of these difficulties, he succeeded in establishing his machine in seven French hospitals (Grenoble, Nantes, Strasbourg, Paris…).
The adventure of the Beninese in robotics started in 2002 with the creation of his structure called Medtech, specialized in the manufacturing of robots assisting doctors in surgical operations on knees. Graduate at the Institut National des Sciences Appliquées(National Institute for Applied Sciences) (INSA Lyon, France) and a Master of Science in robotics holder at Coventry University (England), Bertin worked during several decades in specialized structures as Integrated Surgical Systems Inc. (Orthopaedic surgery) or IMMI SA (neurosurgery).
Original text by: Roger ADZAFO
