For a dermatologist hair loss specialist, FUE is not one uniform procedure. Hair angle, follicle direction, skin thickness, skin firmness, donor location, and whether the hair is shaved can change the technical challenge of graft extraction. I developed UGraft Zeus around a simple premise: when hair and skin characteristics change, the technology should be designed to respond.
Why I Developed UGraft Zeus
The difficult frontiers of FUE were not theoretical to me. They emerged from problems patients brought into my practice. Some patients with severe baldness needed donor supply beyond the traditional scalp, making efficient use of beard and body hair important. Some repair patients had already depleted conventional donor resources and also needed alternative donor areas. Tightly curled hair and tougher skin created another demanding FUE scenario. High-profile patients and others seeking minimal downtime also wanted options that did not require shaving the head.
Those different needs pushed me toward a platform that could work across regular shaved FUE, Afro-textured or tightly curled hair FUE, long-hair FUE, and body-hair FUE. The goal was not a separate answer for every donor scenario, but a more adaptable system.
A Skin-Responsive Approach to FUE
UGraft Zeus uses an Intelligent Punch and a skin-responsive driver designed to navigate differences in hair angle, follicle direction, skin thickness, and skin firmness during extraction. The short video demonstrates a simple donor-region selection, after which the system calibrates for the selected donor area.
That adaptability is intended to extend across traditional scalp FUE, tightly curled hair, long-hair procedures, and body-hair FUE. My work also led to a donor assessment and classification approach intended to help physicians anticipate FUE difficulty rather than discover it only after surgery has begun.
One Platform for Different Donor Scenarios
The video presents UGraft Zeus as a patented FUE technology designed for multiple donor scenarios and describes it as the most multicenter-studied FUE device. The broader purpose of the development was to simplify a technology created for difficult cases so that other physicians could use the same platform across a wider range of patients.
FUE planning remains individual. A hair transplant before and after comparison cannot determine whether the same approach is appropriate for another person. Donor supply, hair characteristics, skin characteristics, and the planned procedure all require medical evaluation. Technology can be designed to adapt, but treatment planning still begins with the individual patient.
Watch the Short Video
Take the Next Step
Free ConsultationMedical Disclaimer
This content is for educational purposes only and is not a substitute for individualized medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Suitability for FUE and treatment planning require an individual medical evaluation. Individual results vary.
Further Reading
- https://dru.com/a-new-follicular-unit-extraction-fue-classification-system-for-hair-transplant-patientsa-new-system-to-evaluate-fue-hair-transplant-patients/
- Umar Sanusi. Body Hair Transplant by Follicular Unit Extraction: My Experience With 122 Patients.Aesthetic Surgery Journal 2016; DOI: 10.1093/asj/sjw089. Published September 22, 2015.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27241361/ - Umar, S.et al. (2021) A novel follicular unit excision device for all-purpose hair graft harvesting, Clinical, cosmetic and investigational dermatology. Available at: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8605797/ (Accessed: 03 August 2023).
- Umar S, Shitabata P, Rose P, Carter MJ, Thuangtong R, Lohlun B, Benhiba H, Oguzoglu T, Zollinger MM, Maldonado J, Gonzalez A, Novosilska M, Gómez Zubiaur A, Marti M. A New Universal Follicular Unit Excision Classification System for Hair Transplantation Difficulty and Patient Outcome. Clin Cosmet Investig Dermatol. 2022 Jun 27;15:1133-1147. doi: 10.2147/CCID.S369346. PMID: 35784270; PMCID: PMC9249093.CopyDownload .nbibFormat:
https://www.dovepress.com/a-new-universal-follicular-unit-excision-classification-system-for-hai-peer-reviewed-fulltext-article-CCID - Umar S, Khanna R, Maldonado JC, Chouhan K, Gonzales A. Beard and Body Hair Transplantation by Follicular Unit Excision Using a Skin-Responsive Device: A Multicenter Study. Dermatol Surg. 2024 Mar 1;50(3):306-308. doi: 10.1097/DSS.0000000000004061. Epub 2023 Dec 20. PMID: 38127669; PMCID: PMC10904000.
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10904000/
