Headed by David McTurk, the former chief operating officer of once London-listed Bookham Technology, Armstrong currently has two main product offerings. The first, PathFinder, is an image-guided robot developed principally for neurosurgery. The second, EndoAssist, is an endoscope manipulator developed for minimally invasive thoracic and abdominal procedures.

Explaining the reasoning behind the fundraising, McTurk notes that the cash will be raised to help launch ‘two major new products in 2007.’

‘We believe PathFinder represents a major contribution to the field of neurosurgery,’ adds Lucius Cary of Oxford Technology, which first backed Armstrong in 1995. ‘Introducing innovative technology always takes time, but PathFinder should become widely adopted and a commercially successful product.’