New Technology Takes a Different Approach to Nerve Repair

TIME names TISSIUM’s nerve repair system a 2026 Best Invention for its approach to minimizing tissue trauma

TISSIUM has been named to TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 list in the Medical & Healthcare category for its COAPTIUM CONNECT System, which is designed to repair peripheral nerves without sutures penetrating delicate nerve tissue.

The system uses a proprietary, light-activated, bioabsorbable polymer to join severed nerve ends, offering an alternative to conventional microsuture techniques.

In a first-in-human study published in the Journal of Hand Surgery Global Online in March 2026, all 10 patients who completed 12-month follow-up achieved good or excellent sensory recovery. Patients also regained full finger flexion and extension and reported no pain at 12 months. No device-related complications were observed.

The recognition follows FDA marketing authorization in 2025 and the first U.S. commercial procedures, marking progress in bringing TISSIUM’s approach to atraumatic nerve repair into clinical practice.

TISSIUM, based in Paris and Cambridge, Massachusetts, develops programmable polymer technologies for tissue reconstruction.

Read TIME’s Best Inventions of 2026 feature.