Dive Brief:
- Medtronic on Tuesday said it has developed an application for its Hugo surgical robot that enables the use of artificial intelligence to support decision-making during procedures.
- The Touch Surgery Aide platform incorporates Nvidia's computing infrastructure and runs Medtronic’s AI application, called Instrument Exit Point, or IEP. The application has received Food and Drug Administration clearance, Medtronic said.
- Medtronic will offer an early look at the new platform this week at the Society of Robotic Surgery meeting in Florida.
Dive Insight:
Medtronic’s Hugo robot received FDA clearance in December for use in urologic procedures, becoming the first big medtech company to challenge Intuitive’s lead in the U.S. robotic soft tissue surgery market. Medtronic has since filed for FDA clearance in general surgeries and gynecologic specialties.
IEP is the company’s first real-time AI application for robotic procedures. The Touch Surgery Aide computing platform expands on Medtronic’s Touch Surgery ecosystem, which is used in more than 1,500 operating rooms worldwide for pre-operative planning, training, intra-operative tele-proctoring and post-operative insights, according to the company.
"Real-time AI marks a new frontier for healthcare — it is a fundamental evolution in how surgery is supported, moving from technology that assists the surgeon's hand to technology that helps teams work smarter, move faster, and deliver greater impact in the moment," Jim Peichel, Medtronic’s chief technology officer, said in a statement.
Touch Surgery Aide combines computer vision and AI to process surgical video and procedural data in real time. Multiple AI applications run simultaneously during a live procedure, and the system is designed to continuously learn and evolve.
IEP gives a visual notification when instruments move beyond the field of view during a robotic procedure. Medtronic said IEP is an early step in bringing AI-enabled support into robotic surgery, and the platform is designed to support expansion into laparoscopic surgery over time.
