Medtronic acquisition of Digital Surgery adds to robotic surgery platform

Medtronic has acquired Digital Surgery, a pioneer in surgical artificial intelligence (AI), data and analytics, and digital education and training.

The acquisition of Digital Surgery aims to strengthen Medtronic’s robotic assisted surgery platform. The terms of the agreement are not being disclosed.

Megan Rosengarten, vice president and general manager of the Surgical Robotics business, which is part of the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group at Medtronic, said: “Capabilities and solutions in the data and analytics space play a critical role in our continued focus on advancing minimally invasive surgery – from education and training, to clinical decision support, to reducing cost and unwarranted variability. We are thrilled to bring the Digital Surgery team and their expertise into Medtronic, not only due to the strategic fit from a technology perspective, but due to the shared belief that patients around the world deserve access to quality surgical care. By pairing digital solutions with robotic platforms and instrumentation, we can have a big impact on expanding patient access.”

Digital Surgery will remain headquartered in London where there are plans for continued investment and workforce expansion. The company’s executive team, including the two surgeon co-founders, Dr. Andre Chow and Dr. Jean Nehme, will remain in place. Digital Surgery and Medtronic’s co-developed digital solutions are expected to be offered on future Medtronic soft tissue robotic assisted surgery systems.

Dr Jean Nehme, surgeon, CEO and co-founder of Digital Surgery, said: “Joining Medtronic creates an incredible opportunity to realise the promise of reducing unwarranted variability in surgery. We have always believed in computational power and data as two central drivers of consistency and quality in surgery. Computational power has impacted our lives in so many ways, and within surgery it is almost absent. By joining forces with Medtronic, we will finally apply computing and AI to surgery on a meaningful scale with a goal of helping more patients in more places benefit from consistently high-quality surgical care.”