Medtronic has announced that it has entered into a contract with Vizient to add Touch Surgery Enterprise, an AI-powered surgical video management and analytics platform for the operating room (OR), to Vizient’s offerings.
In a press release, Medtronic said that Touch Surgery Enterprise simplifies the process of recording, analyzing, and sharing surgical video. The integrated, cloud-connected hardware and software system works with many laparoscopic and robotic scopes, enabling hospitals to take the first step to digitising their OR while leveraging existing equipment, the press release adds.
“Touch Surgery Enterprise allows surgeons to use data to refine the way surgery is taught and executed, and we believe that will raise the standard of healthcare for all,” said George Murgatroyd, vice president and general manager, Digital Surgery within the Surgical Robotics business, which is part of the Medical Surgical Portfolio of Medtronic. “This agreement with Vizient allows us to build on the strong interest we’re seeing globally, to support hospitals in the USA who are looking to harness the power of surgical video data and analysis.”
Touch Surgery Enterprise is part of Medtronic’s portfolio of artificial intelligence (AI) and surgical robotic solutions. It is compatible with the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) system. Vizient serves more than half the nation’s acute care providers, including academic medical centres, community hospitals, paediatric facilities, and non-acute care providers.
“Vizient’s mission is to help our member providers deliver high value care to the patients they serve. Our ability to evolve relationships with our suppliers is a critical piece to the equation as we look to deliver on a more comprehensive value proposition in the market,” said Bryan Grossman, senior vice president, Strategic Supplier Performance & Category Management, Vizient. “Touch Surgery Enterprise aligns with our mission, offering our members the ability to analyse surgical processes that can help advance patient care.”
Touch Surgery Enterprise is comprised of the DS1 computer and controller—surgical video recording hardware designed specifically for the OR. Applications of built-in AI include automatic blurring of faces and protected information to ensure data privacy compliance, automatic segmentation of surgical video into key procedural steps, and the ability to benchmark a case against a bank of historical cases or make comparisons across departments.
“By simplifying the process to capture and analyse surgical video, Touch Surgery Enterprise gives surgical teams a powerful new tool to advance patient care,” said Megan Rosengarten, president of the Surgical Robotics business at Medtronic. “We are excited about the impact it can make for customers today, as a solution for laparoscopic and robotic-assisted cases within their existing infrastructure, and for the possibility this technology creates in the future.”
