Becker's ASC Review

58 ORTHOPEDICS Neurosurgeon's startup hits $1.2B valuation By Alan Condon A rtificial intelligence startup Viz.ai raised $100 million in its fourth round of funding and has reached a valuation of $1.2 billion, the company announced April 7. Neurosurgeon Chris Mansi, MD, is co-founder and CEO of the compa- ny, which uses AI to accelerate care coordination and reduce "delays that stand between patients and life-saving treatments," according to the company's website. The company's stroke triage soft- ware, Viz LVO, features an image analysis tool designed to facilitate fast and accurate triage of suspect- ed large vessel occlusions in stroke patients. "We will continue to invest heav- ily in cutting edge technology and services to integrate deeply into the clinical workflow, allowing us to automate disease detection, increase diagnostic rates and en- hance workflows across the entire hub-and-spoke health system," Dr. Mansi said. "More patients receive the right treatment, resulting in bet- ter patient outcomes and improved financial efficiency for the health system." More than 1,000 hospitals use the company's technology, which has reached millions of patients, accord- ing to Viz.ai. Over the past year, it has launched AI systems for aortic disease, pulmonary embolism and cerebral aneurysms, and received its first five CE Marks in 2021. The company has grown from 180 employees to more than 350 over the past 12 months and plans to add almost 200 team members in the next year. The recent funding round was led by Insight Partners, a private equity and venture capital firm, and Tiger Global, an investment firm. n Smart implants hold big promise for orthopedic, spine surgery By Alan Condon R ecent innovations in sensor technologies demonstrated huge potential in orthopedic surgery, evolving beyond the bulky, expensive and less reliable technologies of the past. e idea behind this new generation of wireless, smart implants is to provide personalized data that can be used to op- timize outcomes for patients. Implantable sensors can be used for mea- suring parameters such as force, torque and pressure. Smart implants such as Zimmer Biomet's Persona IQ are being developed to enable better remote moni- toring, tracking steps, range of motion and other metrics for patients and physi- cians. Persona IQ has a smart sensor that can count steps and measure walking speed, range of motion and other indicators of knee function aer surgery, according to Zimmer Biomet. It wirelessly transmits data and works with the company's My- mobility app for patients. Orthopedic surgeons Peter Sculco, MD, and Fred Cushner, MD, of New York City-based Hospital for Special Surgery, performed the first knee replacement with the implant in October. "It collects data every day during the first year following surgery, providing objec- tive, accurate information on how the knee is functioning," Dr. Cushner said in a news release. "Patient monitoring can continue for much longer, though, as the battery that powers the device was made to last at least 10 years." As more patients receive the smart im- plant, it has the potential to gather a vast amount of data on gait metrics following knee replacement. In the future, ortho- pedic researchers may be able to use data analytics and machine learning to trans- late that information into evidence-based recommendations to improve patient care and outcomes. Stryker is focused on developing its own portfolio of smart implants and wear- ables. Last year, it acquired OrthoSensor, a digital technology company focused on total joint replacements. "Patient recovery will become more ac- tive as real-time measurement on key performance insights drive improved outcomes and patient satisfaction," ac- cording to Spencer Stiles, Stryker's group president of orthopedics and spine. Stryker said the acquisition complements its Mako SmartRobotics technology by advancing robotic workflow through a single data-driven feedback mechanism. OrthoSensor's MotionSense remote pa- tient-monitoring wearables and mobile application will also combine with Orth- loLogIQ — Stryker's cloud-based data platform — to grow its data analytics ca- pabilities. "e impetus for Stryker acquiring Or- thoSensor was to utilize sensors to bet- ter understand patients through their arthroplasty journey utilizing objective data," said Martin Roche, MD, founder of OrthoSensor and director of hip and knee arthroplasty at HSS Florida in West Palm Beach. "When we plan robotic surgery, we will have some information preoperatively through wearables, and now with sensor- assisted robotic surgery, we have real- time data related to alignment, navigated gap distances and the true ligament ten- sion through full motion," he said. "is data will enable the robot to perform a more accurate surgical procedure to hit your target zone of personalized knee balance." As Stryker brands its Mako robot to the knee, the hip and into the shoulder with its $4 billion acquisition of Wright Medi- cal and in the future into spine, the com- pany wants to integrate sensors into all platforms, according to Dr. Roche. "at means every implant they put in will have intelligence embedded in it, so we can really understand a patient's func- tion, kinematics and potentially monitor for infection, healing, etc.," he said. Ultimately, implantable sensors hold great promise for joint replacements and spinal fusion as the ability to monitor load sharing between implant and bone will allow clinicians to identify problems early in their development. n

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