Smith & Nephew acquired an optical tracking technology company to enhance its robotic platform.
Five things to know:
1. Smith & Nephew acquired Swiss company Atracsys Sarl, which includes the fusionTrack 500 optical tracking camera. The company plans to add the technology to its multi-asset digital surgery and robotic ecosystem.
2. The optical navigation and robotic tracking platform has applications for orthopedics, neurosurgery, spine and dental. Smith & Nephew plans to add the technology to its next-generation robotics platform, which will be released commercially next year.
3. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed, and Smith & Nephew expects the deal to close during the third quarter.
4. The fusionTrack 500 technology is designed for faster measurements and to improve latency performance. Surgeons that use it may be able to reduce procedure time and improve surgical accuracy.
5. Smith & Nephew acquired Brainlab's orthopedic joint reconstruction business in March to integrate into its robotics commercial organization.
"The promise of computer assisted surgery with robotics is to provide faster, more accurate, reproducible results that enable surgeons to restore quality of life to more patients," said Skip Kiil, global president of orthopedics at Smith & Nephew. "With the acquisition of Atracsys, we are securing what we believe to be the best-in-class position tracking technology for our next generation robotic-assisted surgical system."