MDC’s challenge, then, was creating a robotic system that could operate on a patient inside an MRI without relying on electric motors, rare earth metals and other elements that would inhibit the imaging machine’s operations.

The young startup’s work is built upon research conducted during founder and CEO Sam Frishman’s time at John Hopkins and Stanford. Frishman describes the solution as “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.