Smith & Nephew (NYSE:SNN) added a pair of software assets to its Syncera generic sales business, a so-called "repless" model for orthopedic devices.
The British healthcare giant said it acquired the Virtual Backtable and TrayTouch applications from S2 Interactive for an undisclosed amount.
The apps allow hospitals and ambulatory surgical centers to monitor instrument utilization data during surgery, so they can identify the instruments used by individual surgeons and streamline instrument tray assembly.
"As operating rooms continue to look for ways to improve efficiency and trim costs, better instrument management becomes vital. By organizing the instrument trays and the OR equipment based on the surgical sequence and the instrument usage of each surgeon, a hospital can significantly reduce the overall costs associated with instrument prep and assembly without sacrificing patient care," Syncera general manager Stuart Morris-Hipkins said in prepared remarks.
Smith & Nephew CEO Olivier Bohoun has touted Syncera as “disruptive of the commercial model,” noting that the British orthopedic device maker is seeing profit margins “equivalent with the classic old-style [hip and knee] business.” Syncera is in its pilot phase in limited hospitals in the U.S., Bohuon said, claiming that hospitals performing 700 procedures a year will save an average of about $4 million in cash over 3 years.