Google, J&J Co-Found Company to Build Surgical Robots

By John Henry Dreyfuss, MDalert.com staff.

Save to PDF TechnologyPerformance-Based MedicineSurgery By

  • New Johnson & Johnson/Google Life Sciences spinoff isVerb Surgical.
  • Verb Surgical will continue to develop advanced surgical robots.
  • J&J’s Ethicon division will develop the surgical instruments for the robotic surgical platform built by Verb.
  • Verb aims to incorporate machine learning, robotic surgery, instrumentation, advanced visualization, and data analytics in order to further advance a surgical robotics platform.

Alphabet, the parent company of Google has announced that it has agreed with Johnson & Johnson to form a new firm that will build surgical robots and surgical robotic platforms. The new company will be called Verb Surgical. This move follows quickly on the heels of Google’s renaming its life sciences division – Google Life Sciences – to Verily. Ethicon, J&J’s surgical device division will co-mingle significant intellectual property with that of Verily. The 2 companies appear to be fully partnered in this new endeavor.

 

Figure 1. A robotic cyberknife in the surgical suite.
Who Does What?

According to a Verb Surgical press release, “In the coming years, Verb aims to develop a comprehensive surgical solutions platform that will incorporate leading-edge robotic capabilities and best-in-class medical device technology for operating room professionals.”

“Verb Surgical is working with physicians around the world to create the future of surgery,” according to the Verb website. “A new future, a future unimagined even a few years ago, which will involve machine learning, robotic surgery, instrumentation, advanced visualization, and data analytics. A future of surgery that aims to achieve improved patient outcomes, lower costs, and greater hospital efficiency.”

 

Figure 2. A robot-assisted surgery training suite.

“The Verb Surgical group has already made meaningful progress on the robotics platform, which is being developed for application across a host of surgical specialties,” Gary Pruden said in a J&J press release. Mr. Pruden is Worldwide Chair at Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices.

Mr. Pruden said the Ethicon team, which will be developing surgical instruments for Verb's robotics-assisted platform, “has already made meaningful progress on the robotics platform, which is being developed for application across a host of surgical specialties,” according to an article in Wired UK.


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