Munich-based, digital surgical technology company, Brainlab has announced the foundation of new subsidiary, Snke OS, in a move that will allow Snke OS to market to a wider circle of industry startups, partners and competitors.

Working out of its new headquarters in the Bogenhausen area of Munich, the team is already developing a digital platform for surgery, rooted in current Brainlab software.

The software framework has over €500M invested over the last 30 years and is an established benchmark in operating room digitalisation for specific complex fields such as neurosurgery.

The features of its functionalities can now be used by third parties for a broad range of clinical applications.

WHY IT MATTERS

Key factors are facilitating and accelerating the need to scale the digitisation of surgery. Surgical interventions represent a substantial value driver for hospitals and the coronavirus pandemic has revealed the necessity for change. 

Existing Brainlab partners, as well as competitors, startups and large companies in the pharma and medical technology industries can build on Snke OS technology and open interfaces to digitally saturate the operating room more efficiently and cost-effectively. 

Snke OS will provide patient-specific model for precision procedures and optimised treatment methods. It does this by combining a range of complex technologies: A universal statistical patient model, coupled with individual anatomy, aggregated from numerous diagnostic images, which will create a digital representation of each patient.

During surgery, this patient-specific model is correlated in relation to the precisely captured movements of the instruments used, enabling accurate surgical navigation and verification. 

THE LARGER TREND

Snke OS uses open interfaces, making it possible for other medical technology companies to integrate their own solutions for imaging, navigation, robotics, cloud computing and AI to more effectively tap into the possibilities of digitisation. This expands the platform’s utility and opportunities in other surgical specialties like heart, liver, craniomaxillofacial, spine, and ear, nose and throat (ENT), as well as in oncology.

With further plans to expand, Brainlab has remained very active in recent times. Just this week, MobiHealthNews reported on Brainlab’s acquisition of Level Ex, a Chicago startup that makes medical-training video games for doctors.

ON THE RECORD

“Surgical procedures are still very analog,” said Stefan Vilsmeier, president and CEO of Brainlab. “With the data obtained from deep digitisation, efficiency deficits can be analysed and treatments individually optimised for each patient.” 

Andreas Giese, managing director, Snke OS, explains: “The physical and organisational separation from Brainlab facilitates the expanded and dynamic development of our software architecture, which in turn expands its utility to a much broader spectrum of clinical challenges. Snke OS will deliver universal functionality across the healthcare data economy. To achieve our goals, we’re searching for talent, especially in the AI domain.”