Orthopedic devicemaker Stryker plans to significantly increase its presence in the artificial intelligence space, CEO Kevin Lobo shared in a Feb. 6 television interview with Fox Business.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, Stryker saw a 10.7 percent increase in organic sales growth, as Mr. Lobo said the orthopedic device market is booming in the wake of COVID-19.
Now that hospitals and outpatient clinics are dealing with fewer staffing issues and patients are no longer putting off elective surgery due to the pandemic, there is once again a high demand for routine orthopedic procedures, including hip and knee replacements.
Following the September 2021 acquisition of artificial intelligence company Gauss Surgical, Stryker has created its own Stryker AI team in house with Gauss' team of AI professionals.
"The team is now looking at how else we can deploy AI across the breadth of our portfolios," Mr. Lobo told Fox.
Stryker already has a line of AI products in the market, including a Stryker Mako robot that has been used in thousands of procedures nationwide.
Additionally, the company plans to launch spine and shoulder applications for the Mako robot in 2024.
"We already had one application for shoulder replacements where we use AI based on a scan to actually suggest to the surgeon what type of implant they should use," Mr. Lobo told Fox. "This is the future. There is no question AI will be proliferated across all of Stryker."