Activ Surgical Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

Activ Surgical completes first AI-enabled case with ActivSight intelligent light

[Image from Activ Surgical on Twitter]Activ Surgical announced today that it completed the first AI-enabled case using its ActivSight Intelligent Light product.

Boston-based Activ Surgical designed ActivSight to provide enhanced visualization and real-time on-demand surgical insights in the operating room. The easy-to-adapt model seamlessly attaches to laparoscopic and robotic systems. It also integrates with standard monitors.

Activ Surgical received CE mark approval for ActivSight in December 2022. The FDA cleared the technology in April 2021.

The company aims to transform the surgical experience using emerging technologies and data. It wants every surgical imaging system to deliver intelligent information, reducing surgical complication rates.

About the first AI-enabled ActivSight Intelligent Light case for Activ Surgical

On Dec. 22, 2022, Dr. Matthew Kalady of The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center used it in a laparoscopic left colectom…

Activ Surgical appoints Manisha Shah-Bugaj as CEO

Activ Surgical announced today that it promoted chief operating officer Manisha Shah-Bugaj to the role of CEO.

Shah-Bugaj served as COO at Activ Surgical since January 2022. She led the company’s impending global commercialization efforts around the ActivSight intelligent light. The intraoperative imaging module for enhanced surgical visualization received CE mark approval in Europe last week.

In her expanded role as CEO, Shah-Bugaj’s responsibilities include overseeing development and commercialization efforts. Additionally, the Boston-based company expects her to engage with company partners, customers, and investors. Outgoing CEO Todd Usen remains on the Activ Surgical board of directors, according to a news release.

“I am honored to follow in Todd’s footsteps and lead our extraordinarily talented team as the next CEO of Activ Surgical,” said Shah-Bugaj. “My passion for developing cutting-edge technologies that solve the biggest challenges…

Activ Surgical wins CE mark for its enhanced surgical imaging system

Activ Surgical today announced it received CE Mark approval for its ActivSight Intelligent Light, ActivSight.

[Image courtesy of Activ Surgical]ActivSight is an easy-to-adapt module that attaches to laparoscopic systems to provide real-time, on-demand surgical insights integrated into standard monitors. It has multimodal advanced visualization for minimally invasive surgery to access critical intraoperative visual data as augmented reality overlays.

“As an early clinical advisor in the development of ActivSight Intelligent Light, I have seen first-hand the benefits it can provide me and my fellow surgeons in operating rooms around the world,” said Dr. Nicole Bouvy, surgeon and professor at Maastricht University Medical Center (MUMC+) in The Netherlands. “The system is seamless to use and allows for advanced visualization during surgery, which makes it an important additional tool to potentially reduce surgical complications. I am pleased that Activ Surgical obtain…

They said it at DeviceTalks Boston

Proximie CEO Nadine Hachach-Haram [Photo courtesy of Proximie]Medtech insiders convened at DeviceTalks Boston 2022 in May to discuss device design, innovation and trends shaping the industry now and in the years and decades ahead.

Here are some of the most quotable insights from panelists and speakers at our live event.

And make sure to save the date — and save your seat — for DeviceTalks West in Santa Clara, California on Oct. 19 and 20.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

How technology is changing the operating room

With all the hype around the use of data, artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, the operating room environment is ever-changing.

But, how does it translate to what clinicians do in practice and how will it improve?

On the “How technology is changing the OR” panel at DeviceTalks Boston, Proximie CEO Nadine Hachach-Haram posited that question, saying that the excitement around the technology must be met with the right application.

“The quality of care has improved access but how does it ultimately make sure every patient is getting the best care the first time, every time?” Hachach-Haram said. “With that in mind, value and impact was always front of mind. … We recognized that we needed to build something fit for now that fit for the future as well.”

Hachach-Haram was on the panel alongside Activ Surgical CEO Todd Usen, Stryker VP of Digital Innovation for Surgical Technologies Siddarth Satish …

Activ Surgical raises $15M in Series B extension

Activ Surgical today received a $15 million extension to its Series B financing round, bringing its total Series B to $60 million.

Hikma Pharmaceuticals’ venture capital arm, Hikma Ventures, led the Series B extension, which also had participation from existing investors. The $15 million investment announced today adds to the initial $45 million Boston-based Activ raised in September 2021.

Activ Surgical develops augmented reality (AR)-based and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven surgery technology. It designed the ActivEdge surgical intelligence platform for reducing unintended and preventable surgical errors by improving decision-making through AI, as well as the ActivSight imaging module for upgrading existing operating room equipment by serving as the “eyes” of the ActivEdge platform.

ActivSight received FDA clearance last year and is part of pilot sites at a number of hospital networks in the U.S. and Europe. It is available now t…

Johns Hopkins-led team’s robot performs laparoscopic surgery without human help

The Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) at work. [Image courtesy of Azel Krieger and Jin Kang/Johns Hopkins University]A Johns Hopkins University research team has created a robot that can perform laparoscopic surgery on a pig’s soft tissue without a human being’s aid.

The researchers described their latest advance with their Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot (STAR) in the January 26 issue of Science Robotics.

“Our findings show that we can automate one of the most intricate and delicate tasks in surgery: the reconnection of two ends of an intestine. The STAR performed the procedure in four animals, and it produced significantly better results than humans performing the same procedure,” said senior author Axel Krieger, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Johns Hopkins.

Activ Surgical (Boston) has roots in the STAR work back in 2016, though Activ’s founder Dr. Peter Kim has since moved on. Activ Surgical’s present focus is on its Act…

Activ Surgical appoints former Olympus VP as its COO

Activ Surgical announced today that it appointed Manisha Shah-Bugaj as its new chief operating officer (COO).

Shah-Bugaj will hold responsibility for overseeing all business operations for the company, including oversight of the impending commercialization of its ActivSight enhanced visualization imaging model and the implementation of its surgical visualization technology at established pilot hospital sites in 2022.

“I am thrilled to join the Activ Surgical team and to have the opportunity to play a critical role in ushering in a new paradigm of surgical care with advanced surgical visualization technology,” Shah-Bugaj said in a news release. “My personal and professional values are very much aligned with the company’s mission to democratize world-class surgical care, and, ultimately, to save lives by eliminating complications in the operating room. I have been nothing but impressed with [CEO Todd Usen] and the leadership team at Activ Surgical and look forwar…

Activ Surgical closes $45M Series B funding round

Activ Surgical today announced that it has secured $45 million in a Series B funding round.

The funding round was led by Cota Capital and included seven new investors. To date, the Boston-based company has raised a total of $77 million.

Activ Surgical is developing a hardware-agnostic platform with ActivInsights augmented reality-based software for autonomous and collaborative surgery through computer vision, artificial intelligence, machine learning, AR and robotics.

The company has earmarked the funds from the Series B round to support the commercial availability of the ActivInsights software suite including the first Insight AR-based overlay that displays tissue perfusion in real-time without the need for traditional dyes. Activ Surgical also said it would use the funds to support commercialization in the U.S. and pursue a CE mark approval to support the global launch of the products.

As part of the fundraising round, Cota Capital partner Bobby…

FDA clears Activ Surgical hardware for enhanced surgical visualization

[Image courtesy of Activ Surgical]Activ Surgical announced today that it’s won FDA 510(k) clearance for ActivSight, the company’s intraoperative imaging module for enhanced surgical visualization.

Todd Usen, the Boston-based company’s CEO, described the clearance as “big news” in a LinkedIn post. “This clearance gets us one step closer to bringing our technology to ORs around the world and enabling real-time and best-in-class surgery for everyone,” Usen said.

The hardware-agnostic imaging module provides surgeons with real-time intraoperative visual data and imaging. Thirteen major healthcare systems around the world have so far committed to ActivSight’s initial launch, according to Activ Surgical. The company expects to launch ActivSight during the second half of 2021.

Activ Surgical plans for ActivSight to power its next product — ActivInsights. Included in the ActivEdge software platform, ActivInsights will…

DTW Podcast: Can AI, advanced imaging and robotics “democratize” surgery?

A new generation of digital surgery systems will level the playing field for surgeons giving them artificial intelligence, robotic tools and other assistive technologies.

In three interviews in this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, leaders form Asensus, ActivSurgical and Memic explain how their systems will improve surgeon performance, reduce errors, and deliver the “democratization” of surgical robotics.

Guests this week include

Anthony Fernando, CEO of Asensus Surgical (formerly Transenterix), outlines the company’s bid to push its Sehance system as a solution for laparoscopic procedures. Fernando, who took over as CEO in 2019, explains why the company’s stock crashed in 2019 and details the changes that he says has started the company’s turnaround. Senhance offers more responsive surgical tools along with data that will help with surgical training and scheduling.

Todd Usen, CEO of ActivSurgical, left a job he loved at Olympus to lead a compan…