TransEnterix wants to use more AI in surgical robotics: Here’s how

January 14, 2020 By Chris Newmarker Leave a Comment

TransEnterix Senhance System robot-assisted surgery artificial intelligence

TransEnterix’s Senhance System already boasts haptic feedback, surgeon camera control via eye sensing and improved ergonomics. [Image courtesy of TransEnterix]

TransEnterix (NYSE:TRXC) has filed a 510(k) submission to add an artificial intelligence feature to its robot-assisted surgery system in which the system can automatically move the camera for a surgeon.

Surgeons have been able to move the camera on TransEnterix’s Senhance System via eye sensing. But the new Intelligent Surgical Unit would allow a surgeon, for example, to tag a specific instrument and instruct the system to have the camera follow the instrument wherever it goes, CEO Anthony Fernando recently explained to MassDevice.

“It’s a convenience, and also it’s a safety feature — because one of the big things in surgery is that you don’t want your instrument to leave the surgical view,” Fernando said.

Fernando described the camera feature as merely a first step toward what TransEnterix eventually wants to accomplish with augmented intelligence and machine vision: “The hardware is capable of a lot more. We intend to do a lot more leveraging of this hardware, get into surgical data analytics and a lot more digital technologies and interpretations of surgery as we go forward.”

The news, announced today by the company, comes as it seeks a better 2020 after a 2019 in which it only sold three of its Senhance Systems — which boast haptic feedback, surgeon camera control via eye sensing and improved ergonomics. On top of the push into augmented intelligence, TransEnterix has also been experimenting with robot leasing agreements to get Senhance into the hands of more surgeons; the company closed two leasing agreements near the end of last year.

The Intelligent Surgical Unit isn’t about replacing the surgeon; it’s about the system computer helping the surgeon to see or think better, said Mohan Nathan, VP of global clinical marketing. (Nathan spoke at DeviceTalks West in December 2019 in Silicon Valley. Check out DeviceTalks Minnesota this March.)

Eventually, the system could have an overwatch feature in which the system utilizes scene cognition and surgical image analytics to provide a surgeon suggestions based on accumulated knowledge and experience around Senhance.

“It’s time for computers to do a lot more than just hold an instrument in surgery,” Nathan said. “I think our hope is that people will start to say this scrappy little company that’s been around for a while and is still fighting— it’s having kind of a Phoenix-like rise with some really unique technology that is going to leapfrog some other people and surprise them, frankly,”

Dr. Amit Trivedi, chair of surgery at Hackensack Meridian Health Pascack Valley Medical Center, thinks augmented intelligence and machine vision capabilities in robotics could transform surgery in the future.

“Imagine if a computer could be the best assistant you’ve ever had in surgery by anticipating and moving a camera effortlessly to maximize control of the visual field,” Trivedi, who participated in studies related to the ISU’s 510(k) submission, said in a news release.

Medline reopens Illinois medtech sterilization plant
Medline Industries resumed sterilization operations at its Waukegan, Ill., plant on Friday, following state certification of the company’s $10 million in emission-control upgrades, the company announced. The Waukegan plant reopening follows the decision this week by officials in Cobb County, Ga., to allow an Atlanta Sterigenics EtO plant to reopen for 21 days to sterilize… […]
DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast: Deconstructing medtech’s alphabet soup – DPA, MDR, FDA are all in the news
In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly, we’ll examine how governmental effort, both foreign and domestic, are hitting the medtech industry. Our guests include Tracy Eberly, CEO of Fang Consulting, a regulatory advisory group. Eberly will update listeners on what pushing back the MDR deadline could mean for medtech companies and why some companies may be less than… […]
AdvaMed: Invoking Defense Production Act could hinder U.S. medtech imports
Forcing manufacturers to repurpose their production lines to make equipment to fight the coronavirus epidemic might actually hurt the U.S. supply of those items, the head of medtech trade group AdvaMed said today. AdvaMed officials have talked with U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and FDA commissioner Dr. Stephen Hahn about medtech… […]
March 2020 Issue: Is software key to medical 3D printing innovation?
What’s the word on ethylene oxide? The coronavirus pandemic has pushed a lot of news out of people’s minds, but medtech has other big issues to deal with. For instance, 8 months have passed since the FDA issued a public challenge for alternatives to ethylene oxide (EtO) as a sterilant for medical devices. As I… […]
GE Healthcare quadruples ventilator production at Wisconsin plant
General Electric Healthcare (NYSE:GE) this week announced that it is doubling its production capacity for ventilators and expanding its Madison, Wisconsin, production line to 24-hour operation. In a report on GE’s website, the company shared that it has doubled its capacity of ventilator production with plans to double it again by the end of the second… […]
FDA issues FAQ on 3D-printed equipment against coronavirus
Intrepid 3D printing companies and individuals who want to print masks, gowns and other personal protective equipment (PPE) to fight the coronavirus pandemic might want to take a look at the FDA’s new frequently asked questions page on the topic. While it says it welcomes coronavirus-fighting efforts, the agency said that 3D-printed masks are unlikely… […]
Software is enabling medical 3D printing innovation: Here’s how
The 3D printers themselves get a lot of attention, but for 3D-printing to become ubiquitous in the medtech space, software will have to play a key role. A 3D printer without software to tell it where to place the material is a really nice, expensive coffee table, according to Scott Rader, a former Stratasys GM… […]
This open source ventilator hackathon could help fight the coronavirus
Infineon engineers developed a 3D printed lung ventilator to help address the shortage of ventilators due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The German federal government held a hackathon called #WirvsVirus (“We against the virus”) where 42,000 people met to find solutions to challenges from the coronavirus. Infineon engineers, led by Mahmoud Ismail who has a doctorate… […]
Could these DIY ventilators stop coronavirus from killing people?
Amid the global crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, hospitals and healthcare facilities are reporting shortages of vital equipment that not only keeps the patients safe, but the staffers, too. One important device for which demand has ramped up is ventilators for patients who need assistance with their breathing due to the respiratory effects of… […]
DIY ventilators? Not unless there’s a zombie apocalypse.
News reports of the COVID-19 virus have given a lot of space to the shortage of respiratory ventilators. The Society of Critical Care Medicine claims at least 950,000 U.S. patients could need ventilators but hospitals only have 160,000. One response to statistics like these has been a movement among open-source promoters to initiate community-designed ventilators… […]
FDA announces EUAs related to ventilators to treat coronavirus
Amid a shortage of ventilators for treating coronavirus, the FDA put out a statement confirming its stance on issuing emergency use authorizations for potential temporary fixes. The FDA said it is operating on the basis of a EUA determination that the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services issues on Feb. 4. Earlier this week, HHS declared… […]