We are an ophthalmic surgical device company dedicated to bringing innovative instruments to surgeons, solving their problems, and enhancing surgical visualization through ergonomic and beautiful devices. We believe that great innovation should reward surgeons with easier and more enjoyable surgery and reward their patients with superior outcomes.
We are a company by eye surgeons for eye surgeons, committed to creating beautiful products that simplify surgery. We invite you to explore our products and start reimagining your surgical day now.
Our Story
Dr. Alan Brown has a long history of innovation in ophthalmic surgery instrumentation, having developed instruments for cataract, glaucoma, LASIK and other refractive surgeries over the years. While he loves designing devices that solve surgical problems and simplify surgical processes, he became increasingly frustrated with the time it took for the larger companies to bring these new products to market.
So in 2013, Alan founded Surgilūm to streamline and expedite the process of transforming prototypes of great ideas into a beautiful devices that he could use and share with his colleagues in ophthalmology. The RoboMarker® System debuted at the Cataract Surgery: Telling It Like It Is! meeting in January 2014. Our first customers immediately understood the value RoboMarker® offered in terms of accuracy and ease of use and purchased the device based on the prototypes we had to show at the meeting.
Thanks to these early adopters, Surgilūm was able to gain initial momentum and completed the first production run. Then, the July 2014 issue of Outpatient Surgery Magazine featured the RoboMarker® System as one of eight “impressive innovations” in the article New Options for Ophthalmic Surgery: Keeping an eye out for innovation at the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery conference. RoboMarker® was also a finalist in the Surgical Equipment, Instruments, and Supplies category of the international 2015 Medical Design Excellence Awards.
Now, with representation available to demo Surgilūm products throughout the continental United States, Australia, New Zealand, Scandinavia, South Africa and most of Western Europe, we are looking forward to releasing our second product line, the Photon Speculum™ System. The Photon Speculum™ System is the world’s first self illuminated ocular speculum, which allows surgeons to see details they have never seen before while avoiding the direct light to the retina encountered with traditional coaxial microscope systems. We will continue to expand our distribution network to support our international customers.
Thank you for visiting our website and becoming part of the Surgilūm story! We look forward to what is ahead and invite you to join us as we continue designing products to meet the real challenges of your surgical day and to help you see the world you’ve been missing!
Alan Brown, MD
Our team is headed by Alan W. Brown, MD, a seasoned eye surgeon and innovator in ophthalmic instrumentation. As an ophthalmologist, he strives to give his patients the best possible vision. As an inventor, he aims to design state-of-the-art instruments to improve surgical processes and improve patient outcomes.
Founder Bio
Dr. Brown is a highly experienced, board-certified ophthalmologist who has performed over 40,000 cataract/refractive procedures. He has invented numerous ophthalmic instruments for cataract and refractive surgery and is currently involved in FDA trials for two different MIGS devices. Dr. Brown is a distinguished member of a number of professional medical societies including the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the International Society of Refractive Surgeons, the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery, and the American-European Congress of Ophthalmic Surgery.
Dr. Brown has been inventing since he was a child. His love of problem-solving, science, and engineering led him to a career in medicine where he started out as a family physician, but after realizing how much he loved hands-on work, he moved towards a career in surgery. He completed a second residency in ophthalmology in 1991, having done his surgical training at the Greater Baltimore Medical Center and his pathology training at Johns Hopkins. He has been practicing ophthalmology in Wilmington, NC ever since and has been the medical director of his private practice, Surgical Eye Care, since 1997.
Surgical Eye Care has thrived on word-of-mouth referrals because Dr. Brown loves his patients and is passionate about giving every one of them the absolute best vision that they can have. This standard of excellence has driven him to design over a dozen medical devices to help both him and his colleagues in ophthalmology improve surgical outcomes. He founded Surgilūm in 2013 to help accelerate the process of bringing these innovations to the market.
When he isn’t caring for his patients or driving the field of ophthalmology forward from a technological perspective, Dr. Brown enjoys spending time with his wife of over 30 years (and Surgilūm president) Debbie and their five children. He also enjoys playing the guitar and designing jewelry.
