Traditional operating rooms are built around complex infrastructure. Compacta was built around a different idea: surgical-grade conditions should not depend on it. Ready within minutes and designed for mobility, CS1 can be deployed across hospitals, rural clinics, field hospitals, and temporary healthcare facilities. It is not a new operating room. It is a new way of thinking about where surgery can be performed.
Every year, an estimated 143 million additional surgical procedures are needed to save lives and prevent disability, particularly in low- and middle-income countries. Closing this global surgical gap is estimated to require investments of more than €502 billion. Yet the cost of inaction is even greater. Without improved access to surgical care, low- and middle-income countries could lose more than €11.3 trillion in economic productivity by 2030.
One of the major barriers is the lack of access to suitable surgical environments. Traditional operating rooms are expensive to build, maintain, and operate, making it difficult for healthcare providers to expand surgical capacity where it is needed most. For millions of patients, access to surgery depends not only on skilled healthcare professionals, but also on access to clean air and safe surgical conditions.
Compacta was created to address this challenge. By delivering ultra-clean air and integrated surgical lighting directly above the operating field, Compacta enables surgical-grade conditions without the need for a traditional operating room. The result is a flexible and scalable solution that can help expand surgical capacity, reduce infrastructure requirements, and bring safe surgery closer to patients.
Source: Meara JG et al. Global Surgery 2030: Evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development. The Lancet Commission on Global Surgery, The Lancet, 2015.
For more than a century, access to safe surgery has depended on dedicated operating rooms, complex ventilation systems, and permanent infrastructure.
We believe patients should not lose access to surgery simply because those resources are unavailable. That belief led us to challenge a long-standing assumption: that surgical-grade conditions can only be created inside a traditional operating room.
Compacta CS1 creates a microbiologically clean environment directly above the operating field, helping make surgical-grade conditions available wherever patients need care.
• Tested in veterinary hospital (Kraków, Poland)
• Simulated surgery on 28 rabbits
• 220 culture samples
81.8% → completely sterile – 0 CFU
18.2% → ≤2 CFU
👉 Shows that we can create a safe sterile zone
Compacta CS1 is being developed in accordance with the European Medical Device Regulation (MDR 2017/745) for Class I medical devices. Regulatory and quality activities are currently underway as part of the product’s final development and preparation for market launch.
Compacta brings together expertise in surgery, healthcare, science, innovation, and business development. While our backgrounds are different, we share the same belief: access to safe surgery should not be limited by infrastructure.
Together, we are working to make surgical-grade conditions more accessible wherever patients need care.
Lars Wesén is CEO and co-founder of Compacta. With a background spanning architecture, mathematics, theoretical physics, business, and the humanities, he has spent his career challenging conventional thinking and solving complex problems through innovation.
The idea behind Compacta grew from a simple question: why should safe surgery depend on expensive and permanent infrastructure? Today, Lars leads the company with a vision to make surgical-grade conditions more accessible by rethinking where and how surgery can be performed.
Henrik Gorgi is Deputy CEO of Compacta and an entrepreneur with a background in sales, business development, and growth. He is driven by a belief that access to surgical care should not be limited by infrastructure, and works to build partnerships and accelerate the adoption of Compacta's vision for more accessible surgery.
Professor Lars Montelius is co-founder and CFO of Compacta. With more than 30 years of experience in science, innovation, and technology leadership, he combines deep scientific expertise with entrepreneurial experience. As former Director-General of the International Iberian Nanotechnology Laboratory (INL) and Professor Emeritus at Lund University, Lars brings global perspective, credibility, and a strong focus on turning innovation into real-world impact.
Dr. Olof Jarlman is a physician, radiologist, entrepreneur, and medical advisor to Compacta. With extensive experience in healthcare leadership, medical technology, and digital health, he brings a unique combination of clinical expertise and innovation. His experience across healthcare, academia, and health-tech ventures helps ensure that Compacta's solutions are grounded in real clinical needs and practical implementation.
Dr. Johan Linders is a surgeon and surgical advisor to Compacta with extensive experience in acute care, trauma surgery, and transplantation. Combining clinical practice, research, and experience from demanding operational environments, he brings valuable insight into the requirements of safe and effective surgery. His expertise helps guide Compacta's mission to make surgical-grade conditions more accessible wherever surgery needs to be performed.
