As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to transform industries worldwide, we take a bold step forward by integrating AI into medical device innovations through a dedicated machine learning (ML) team.
In 2019 marked the start of developing a clinical outcome prediction for shoulder surgery, leading to Predict+, the world’s first decision support tool for arthroplasty. Through this collaboration, the potential for AI to transform surgery and clinical needs was clear. In 2023, the ML team officially merged with Newco’s Advanced Surgical Technologies department and has accelerated development, validation, and real-world impact ever since.
What is the significance of an in-house ML team for medical device companies?
Integrating AI into the medical device industry is uniquely complex, requiring strict compliance with regulations. While external teams can support development, true adoption demands deep industry alignment. An in-house AI/ML team fosters collaboration across medical, regulatory, and technical domains, ensuring solutions are accurate, secure, and compliant. This approach is designed to accelerate innovation, enhance operational and clinical efficiency, and improve patient outcomes.
Vision for the integration of AI and ML in the medical device industry.
Evidence-based and data-driven decisions across device and patient journeys can help improve on all key values of care – personalize care to patient needs, reduce disparities and improve intraoperative care with high precision and accuracy, improve clinician and care team experience, reduce costs and significantly improve the quality and outcomes of devices. In the future, these decisions will be brought across the spectrum of care and total joint arthroplasty.
Prediction of how AI and ML will shape the medical device industry over the next five years?
AI/ML growing and evolving at an unprecedented pace over the last couple of years, its impact on the medical device industry will continue to accelerate. Expect that modern generative AI algorithms have a key role in transforming clinical workflows, revolutionizing AI-assisted analysis of care. Surgeons will be able to not only improve care, but also contribute to global knowledge-sharing, expanding access to expertise and innovation while reducing disparities in specialized care.
The forefront of AI developments in the industry?
Focused on three key areas:
- Pioneering an industry-specific AI framework for secure and safe adoption of our algorithms,
- Developing hybrid (cloud and on-premise) infrastructure to provide, adopt and evaluate modern AI algorithms
- Enhancing compliance with innovative risk controls and monitoring measures.
With our early start in AI, rapid adoption of scalable cloud infrastructure, and access to top experts across business, manufacturing, operations, and clinical, we are positioned to create truly game-changing products for the industry.
We are leading the way with its Active Intelligence® ecosystem of smart technologies. Soon, customers can expect significant advancements in our preoperative planning and navigation software and intraoperative planning based on live acquisitions through our GPS ecosystem. We are also working on automating medical image analysis for both bone and soft tissue, with the goal of enabling accurate treatment planning and outcomes prediction.
Advice for those who are interested in pursuing a career in AI/ML?
Familiarize yourself with modern AI/ML technology, its history and its building blocks that are rooted in the fundamentals of math and programming. Identify small AI/ML problems within your daily life to solve, use open-source platforms and experiment without needing a powerful computer or expensive resource. Leverage the plethora of courses available online to help you start and build your knowledge in the domain. Rely on technical resources and learn from the pioneers and giants of the field. And most importantly, stay curious, read, and find a community or mentor to share, learn and build together.
