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Activ Surgical Collaborates with Dr. Vipul Patel and Dr. Jonathan Noel on Peer-Reviewed Study and Publication Using ActivSight™ Intelligent Light Visualization System

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October 18, 2022
Author: Manisha Shah-Bugaj , COO, Activ Surgical 

Last month, the team at Activ Surgical achieved a critical milestone as we announced our first peer-reviewed study and publication in Surgical Endoscopy using our ActivSight™ Intelligent Light Visualization System. Today, we are pleased to be sharing the news that a second peer-reviewed study and paper has been published in another leading medical journal–Current Urology. The study brought together one of the most well-respected names in urologic robotic-assisted surgery, Dr. Vipul Patel, as well as his then-fellow, Dr. Jonathan Noel, to investigate how Intelligent Light signals for kidney perfusion can be utilized in partial nephrectomy. 

The team used our FDA-cleared ActivSight Intelligent Light System during a minimally-invasive procedure of an anesthetized porcine kidney model, allowing the team of surgeons to explore multimodal advanced visualization. Our patented ActivPerfusion™ mode, which integrates laser speckle contrast imaging to detect real-time blood flow and perfusion, was employed together with ActivICG™ mode, providing traditional near infrared visualization of indocyanine green dye (ICG).  ActivICG and dye-free ActivPerfusion displayed visual concordance of regional perfusion in response to clamping of the upper segmental artery. Furthermore, it was observed that ActivPerfusion avoids dye-related latency and potential false-positive results from dye retention.

Dr. Patel and Dr. Noel, along with their team of colleagues, were thrilled with the results of this study, which support potential ActivSight utility for renal parenchymal perfusion assessment. Of equal importance, they agree that ActivSight multimodal enhanced visualization may allow for the rapid advancement of digital surgery. 

All of us at Activ Surgical express our appreciation to Dr. Patel and Dr. Noel for leading this study and the subsequent paper publication in Current Urology. We are also grateful to Dr. Moschavas, Dr. Liu, Dr. Mehrota, Dr. Nwaiwu, Anya Mascarenhas and Activ Surgical founder and CSMSO Dr. Peter Kim for their involvement and efforts in completing this study. These studies and the publication of their findings play an important role as we continue to work towards global commercialization of ActivSight Intelligent Light Visualization System later this year. 

To purchase the peer-reviewed paper in Current Urology please visit: https://journals.lww.com/cur/fulltext/9900/laser_speckle_contrast_imaging_compared_with.67.aspx

Activ Surgical Celebrates First Peer-Reviewed Publication in Surgical Endoscopy for Study Using ActivSight™ Intelligent Light

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Author: Manisha Shah-Bugaj , COO, Activ Surgical 

September 28, 2022

Earlier in September, the team at Activ Surgical, along with a small consortium of leading surgeons across the U.S., completed a significant and exciting milestone by having our first peer-reviewed study and subsequent paper published in the well-renowned journal Surgical Endoscopy. The study, which was led by Activ Surgical CMSO and founder, Dr. Peter Kim, used our ActivSight™ Intelligent Light Visualization System to determine if laser speckle contrast imaging (LSCI) mitigates limitations inherent in the use and interpretation of indocyanine green (ICG) fluorescence during real-time intraoperative tissue blood flow and perfusion in operating room scenarios. 

During the study, Dr. Kim was joined by Dr. Steven D. Schwaitzberg from the University of Buffalo and Dr. Chibueze A. Nwaiwu from the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University, and several of my colleagues at Activ Surgical. The group used our FDA-cleared platform that provides real-time, on-demand intraoperative visual data and images not currently available to surgeons through existing technologies. ActivSight enables two visualization modalities: dye-less real-time visualization of blood flow and perfusion using LSCI and near-infrared fluorescence (NIRF) visualization of ICG dye in blood volume. In this study, surgeons examined blood flow and perfusion using LSCI and NIRF-ICG in a segmentally devascularized intestine, partial gastrectomy, and the renal hilum across six porcine models.  

The results were groundbreaking. The team concluded that using ActivSight with LSCI for blood flow detection significantly improves precision and accuracy of perfusion detection in tissue locations over time, in real time, and repeatedly on-demand. These findings represent a paradigm shift in the OR, allowing surgeons enhanced visualization in a laparoscopic form factor that will usher in a new era of patient safety and standards of care around the world. 

I am grateful to Dr. Kim, Dr. Schwaitzberg, and Dr. Nwaiwu for leading this study and for the publishing of this peer-reviewed paper as it provides mission-critical validation for ActivSight. Achieving this milestone and receiving validation from Surgical Endoscopy is an important hurdle on our path to global commercialization of our surgical intelligence platform. I also want to thank my colleagues at Activ Surgical who supported this effort: Vasiliy Buharin PhD, Anderson Mach, and Robin Grandl PhD. We appreciate your hard work and determination. 

Stay tuned for more updates from Activ Surgical as we continue our progress towards commercial availability of the ActivSight Intelligent Light Visualization System later this year, and making good on our promise to deliver intelligent information that reduces surgical complication rates in operating rooms around the world. 

To purchase the peer-reviewed paper in Surgical Endoscopy please visit: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00464-022-09583-2

Activ Surgical aims to bring real-time AI to their surgery platform using NVIDIA Clara Holoscan on newly-launched NVIDIA IGX

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Activ Surgical, Moon Surgical and Proximie will bring real-time AI to their surgery platforms using NVIDIA Clara Holoscan on NVIDIA IGX.

September 20, 2022 by RAGHAV MANI

NVIDIA today introduced the NVIDIA IGX platform for medical edge AI use cases, bringing advanced security and safety to intelligent machines and human-machine collaboration.

IGX is a hardware and software platform that delivers secure, low-latency AI inference to meet the clinical demand for instant insights from a range of devices and sensors for medical applications, including robotic-assisted surgery and patient monitoring.

The IGX platform supports NVIDIA Clara Holoscan, a domain-specific platform that allows medical-device developers to bridge edge, on-premises data center and cloud services. This integration enables the rapid development of new, software-defined devices that bring the latest AI applications directly into the operating room.

Three leading medical-device startups — Activ Surgical, Moon Surgical and Proximie — have selected the combination of NVIDIA Clara Holoscan running on the IGX platform to power their surgical robotics systems. All three are members of NVIDIA Inception, a global program that helps technology startups evolve faster.

They’re among more than 70 medical device companies, medical centers and startups already using Clara Holoscan to advance their efforts to deploy AI applications in clinical settings.

Robotic Surgery Startups Accelerate Time to Market

Activ Surgical has selected NVIDIA Clara Holoscan to accelerate development of its AI and augmented-reality solution for real-time surgical guidance. The Boston-based company’s ActivSight technology allows surgeons to view critical physiological structures and functions, like blood flow, that cannot be seen with the naked eye.

By integrating this information into surgical imaging systems, the company aims to reduce surgical complication rates, improving patient care and safety.

“NVIDIA Clara Holoscan will help us optimize precious engineering resources and go to market faster,” says  Tom Calef, chief technology officer at Activ Surgical. “With Clara Holoscan and NVIDIA IGX, we envision that our intraoperative AI solution will transform the collective surgical experience with data-driven insights, helping make world-class surgery accessible for all.”

Paris-based robotic surgery company Moon Surgical is designing Maestro, an accessible, adaptive surgical-assistant robotics system that works with the equipment and workflows that operating rooms already have in place.

“NVIDIA has all the hardware and software figured out, with an optimized architecture and libraries,” said Anne Osdoit, CEO of Moon Surgical. “Clara Holoscan helps us not worry about things we typically spend a lot of time working on in the medical-device development cycle.”

The company has instead been able to focus its engineering resources on AI algorithms and other unique features. Adopting Clara Holoscan saved them time and resources, helping them compress their development timeline.

London-based Proximie is building a telepresence platform to enable real-time, remote surgeon collaboration. Clara Holoscan will allow the company to provide local video processing in the operating room, improving performance for users while maintaining data privacy and lowering cloud-computing costs.

“We are delighted to work with NVIDIA to strengthen the health ecosystem and further our mission to connect operating rooms globally,” said Dr. Nadine Hachach-Haram, founder and CEO of Proximie. “Thanks to this collaboration, we are able to provide the most immersive experience possible and deliver a resilient digital solution, with which operating-room devices all over the world can communicate with each other and capture valuable insights.”

Proximie is already deployed in more than 500 operating rooms around the world, and has recorded tens of thousands of surgical procedures to date.

Medical-Grade Compliance in Edge AI

The NVIDIA IGX platform is powered by NVIDIA IGX Orin, the world’s most powerful, compact and energy-efficient AI supercomputer for medical devices. IGX Orin developer kits will be available early next year.

IGX features industrial-grade components designed for medical certification, making it easier to take medical devices from clinical trials to real-world deployment.

Embedded-computing manufacturers ADLINK, Advantech, Dedicated Computing, Kontron, Leadtek, MBX, Onyx, Portwell, Prodrive Technologies and YUAN will be among the first to build products based on NVIDIA IGX for the medical device industry.

Learn more about the NVIDIA IGX platform in a special address by Kimberly Powell, NVIDIA’s vice president of healthcare, at GTC. Register free for the virtual conference, which runs through Thursday, Sept. 22.

Hear from Activ Surgical and other leading startups in medical devices, medical imaging and biopharma in the GTC panel, “Accelerate Patient-Centric Innovation With Makers and Breakers in Healthcare Life Science.” The GTC session “Take Medical AI from Research to Clinical Production With MONAI and Clara Holoscan” will highlight the latest developments in MONAI and Clara Holoscan.

Activ Surgical Successfully Completes Institutional Review Board Study at University at Buffalo

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Media Contact:

Heath Meyer
heath@teamseismic.com
858-768-1527

Activ Surgical Successfully Completes Institutional Review Board Study at University at Buffalo Digital Surgery Pioneer Conducts 40-Patient Study with ActivSight™ Intraoperative Imaging Module to Demonstrate Advanced Visualization Use Cases in the Operating Room

BOSTON — May 24, 2022 — Activ Surgical™, a digital surgery pioneer, today announced the successful completion of an Institutional Review Board (IRB) study using its ActivSight™ intraoperative imaging module at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University at Buffalo (UB) in New York. The 40-patient study was led by principal investigator Dr. Christina Sanders, medical director of ECMC Synergy Bariatrics for UB, and demonstrated how the FDA-cleared ActivSight imaging module can provide real time, on-demand insights and intraoperative visual data and images not currently available to surgeons through existing technologies.

Dr. Sanders was joined by peers from UB during this IRB study, including Dr. Steven Schwaitzberg, Dr. Aaron Hoffman, Dr. John Ortolani, Dr. John Butsch, Dr. Alan Posner, Dr. Matthew Burstein and Dr. Marissa Novack. In addition, Dr. Ajay Panchal, Dr. Mark Falvo and Dr. Jeffrey Visco from Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital also participated in the study.

During the study, Dr. Sanders and her colleagues conducted a variety of procedures using the ActivSight imaging module on patients undergoing elective laparoscopic and robotic-assisted bariatric and colorectal anastomoses and cholecystectomies with the goal of improving patient safety by reducing adverse complications through augmented visual intelligence. The imaging module is an easy-to-adapt platform that seamlessly attaches to today’s laparoscopic systems providing real time, on demand insights, integrated into standard monitors. The study incorporated the use of the Activ Surgical intraoperative surgical intelligence and the proprietary ActivPerfusion™ visualization mode that allows for dye-free detection and display of tissue perfusion and real-time imperceptible latency.

“My peers and I are very pleased with the results of this IRB study using Activ Surgical enhanced visualization,” said Dr. Sanders. “The technology was easy to use and allowed us to see critical elements, such as blood flow and tissue perfusion, that were previously impossible to see with repeatable accuracy during procedures. The potential impact of the ActivSight imaging module and Activ Surgical visualization technology to improve patient safety is incredibly promising.”

“Implementing new technologies into the OR is historically very difficult to do,” said Dr. Steven Schwaitzberg, SUNY Distinguished Service Professor and Chairman of Surgery in the Jacobs School at UB. “I was impressed by the ActivSight imaging module’s capabilities, specifically its ability to enhance visualization capabilities during surgical procedures. All of the surgeons involved in this study are excited about the promise of the Activ Surgical technology and the potential impact it may have on surgical outcomes.”

“Completing this IRB study is a significant milestone for Activ Surgical that validates our technology as we prepare for global commercialization of the ActivSight imaging module,” said Todd Usen, chief executive officer, Activ Surgical. “We are incredibly thankful for the work Dr. Sanders and her colleagues have completed at UB and are encouraged by the successes they experienced in the OR using our technology. We believe our platform has great potential to improve patient outcomes and safety in the OR and help to democratize surgical care across the globe.”

Activ Surgical is offering early access to the ActivSight imaging module to select customers now, with full commercial availability coming later this year. For more information about the company and its proprietary technology, please visit www.activsurgical.com.

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About Activ Surgical

Activ Surgical is the pioneering digital surgery company that completed the world’s first autonomous robotic surgery of soft tissue in 2018. The company is revolutionizing surgical vision, enabling a future of augmented reality-based and artificial intelligence-driven surgery that is safe, smart, and accessible to all. Its patent-protected surgical software platform–ActivEdge™–is being designed to reduce unintended and preventable surgical errors by enhancing a surgeon’s intraoperative decision making via the aggregation of surgical data from around the world. Activ Surgical is privately held, and backed by DNS Capital, Cota Capital, BAM Funds, GreatPoint Ventures (GPV), ARTIS Ventures, LRVHealth, Tao Capital Partners, Magnetar Capital, NVIDIA, Rising Tide VC,  Hikma Ventures,  MINT Venture Partners, Castor Ventures, SONY Innovation Fund, and Dream One Vision. Learn more at www.activsurgical.com.

Hikma Ventures leads Series B extension in Activ Surgical to support the global commercialization of its platform

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London, UK and Boston, MA – March 22, 2022 – Hikma Pharmaceuticals PLC (Hikma), the multinational pharmaceutical company, today announced that its venture capital arm, Hikma Ventures has led an $15 million USD round of financing for Activ Surgical, a pioneering digital surgery imaging startup that is developing groundbreaking interoperative surgical intelligence hardware and software. The investment is an extension of the Series B round that was previously announced by Activ Surgical in September 2021. This most recent financing, which also saw participation from existing investors, brings the total Series B round to $60 million USD.

Activ Surgical aims to revolutionize access to surgical care, enabling a future of augmented reality (AR)-based and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven surgery that is safe, smart, and accessible to all. The company’s patent-protected surgical intelligence platform – ActivEdge™ – is being designed to reduce unintended and preventable surgical errors by enhancing a surgeon’s interoperative decision-making through the use of AI. Activ Surgical’s first product — the ActivSight™ imaging module — seamlessly upgrades existing operating room equipment, serving as the “eyes” of the ActivEdge platform. It allows surgeons to access critical intraoperative visual data as AR overlays. In 2021, the ActivSight imaging module was cleared by the FDA and successfully used in its first-in-human studies. To date, multiple major hospital networks across the U.S. and Europe have been established as pilot sites. The ActivSight imaging module is available now via a limited market release and will be broadly available in 2022.

“Hikma Ventures’ investment in Activ Surgical comes at a critical inflection point in the company’s history as our team is hard at work preparing for the global launch of our ActivSight imaging module later this year,” said Todd Usen, CEO, Activ Surgical. “This investment will allow us to scale our business quickly and add resources needed to ensure a successful rollout of the ActivSight imaging module, helping to fulfil our mission to empower surgeons’ intraoperative decision-making and, ultimately, enhance patient safety. Hikma’s position in the global healthcare landscape helps validate our mission to provide better patient outcomes globally.”

“We are thrilled to invest in Activ Surgical and support their mission to democratize surgical care and to eliminate unintended surgical complications to improve patient outcomes and empower surgeons across the globe,” said Lana Ghanem, Managing Director of Hikma Ventures. “This is the latest example of Hikma Ventures’ commitment to supporting pioneering companies utilizing cutting-edge technologies to meaningfully improve patients’ lives. We look forward to working with the talented Activ Surgical team to help them expand the global reach of their innovative platform to different geographies, especially the Middle East.”

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Investor Enquiries:

Hikma Ventures

Lana Ghanem, Managing Director, Hikma Ventures

lana@hikmaventures.com, +962 6 580 3100

Media

Steve Weiss, +1 732 788 8279

David Belian, +1 848 254 4875

US Communications and Public Affairs, uscommunications@hikma.com

U.S. Media Conact for Activ Surgical:

Heath Meyer (heath@teamseismic.com / 858-768-1527

About Hikma

(LSE: HIK) (NASDAQ Dubai: HIK) (OTC: HKMPY) (rated BBB-/stable S&P and BBB-/stable Fitch)

Hikma helps put better health within reach every day for millions of people around the world. For more than 40 years, we’ve been creating high-quality medicines and making them accessible to the people who need them. Headquartered in the UK, we are a global company with a local presence across the United States (US), the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and Europe, and we use our unique insight and expertise to transform cutting-edge science into innovative solutions that transform people’s lives. We’re committed to our customers, and the people they care for, and by thinking creatively and acting practically, we provide them with a broad range of branded and non-branded generic medicines. Together, our 8,600 colleagues are helping to shape a healthier world that enriches all our communities. We are a leading licensing partner, and through our venture capital arm, are helping bring innovative health technologies to people around the world. For more information, please visit: www.hikma.com

About Hikma Ventures 

Founded in August 2015, Hikma Ventures operates as the corporate venture capital arm of Hikma Pharmaceuticals. Hikma Ventures invests in global start-ups where Hikma’s expertise can accelerate revenue growth and enhance value creation by providing ventures with access to the resources of a multinational pharmaceutical company. For more information, please visit www.hikmaventures.com.

About Activ Surgical  

Activ Surgical is the pioneering digital surgery company that completed the world’s first autonomous robotic surgery of soft tissue in 2018. The company is revolutionizing surgical vision, enabling a future of augmented reality-based and artificial intelligence-driven surgery that is safe, smart, and accessible to all. Its patent-protected surgical software platform–ActivEdge™–is being designed to reduce unintended and preventable surgical errors by enhancing a surgeon’s intraoperative decision making via the aggregation of surgical data from around the world. Activ Surgical is privately held, and backed by Hikma Ventures, DNS Capital, Cota Capital, BAM Funds, GreatPoint Ventures (GPV), ARTIS Ventures, LRVHealth, Tao Capital Partners, Magnetar Capital, NVIDIA, Rising Tide VC, MINT Venture Partners, Castor Ventures, SONY Innovation Fund, and Dream One Vision. Learn more at www.activsurgical.com. 

Activ Surgical Granted Third U.S. Patent for ActivSight™ Imaging Module

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Author: Tom Calef, CTO, Activ Surgical

Today marks yet another milestone in Activ Surgical’s history as we announce that the company was issued its third patent from the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) for our ActivSightTM interoperable imaging module. The ActivSight module is designed to interface with existing vision systems to enable surgeons to view in real-time critical physiological structures and functions, like blood flow, that cannot be seen with the naked eye while in the operating room.

Our first U.S. patent for the ActivSight imaging module was issued in March of 2021, with a second patent granted in November 2021. This third patent – U.S. Patent No. 11,206,991 – was issued in December 2021 and protects our proprietary system and methods for processing laser speckle signals, which are currently delivered via the ActivSight module. This patent protects our intellectual property that provides intraoperative visual data and images on blood flow and perfusion not currently available to surgeons through existing technologies. The three patents are mission-critical for Activ Surgical and bring us one step closer to our goal of enhancing patient outcomes and democratizing surgical care around the world. I am incredibly proud of our staff, particularly the inventors of this technology, John Oberlin and Manny DeMaio. As a company, we have many patents pending for our inventions worldwide, which cements our position as a disruptor in the digital surgery space. Stay tuned for more news from Activ Surgical as we march towards commercial availability of the ActivSight module later this year.