Dive Brief:
- Johnson & Johnson MedTech will partner with Nvidia, incorporating artificial intelligence into a surgical robot used in kidney stone procedures, the companies announced Tuesday.
- The medical device giant will use AI-driven simulation to develop its Monarch platform for urology. For example, simulated clinical scenarios and patient anatomy can be used to model kidney stone procedures.
- J&J plans to make the urology platform commercially available in the U.S. in 2026.
Dive Insight:
J&J’s Monarch robot is currently used in bronchoscopy procedures. The company received FDA clearance for a urology indication in 2022, allowing the flexible robot to be used in kidney stone surgeries.
J&J is using Nvidia’s Isaac for Healthcare, a developer framework for medical robotics, to simulate how its Monarch system may perform in an operating room and inside a patient. The company is also using Nvidia foundation models for synthetic data generation.
The companies said virtual operation room environments can help clinical teams set up the robotic system before a procedure, and simulated scenarios can help with learning and procedure planning.
J&J’s research and development teams can also use simulations to test new features and model how Monarch would work in real-world settings.
The announcement comes as more medical device companies are striking AI partnerships. Nvidia is also working with Philips on models for magnetic resonance imaging, Illumina to analyze genomic data and GE Healthcare around autonomous X-ray and ultrasound solutions.
