Dive Brief:

• Medtronic and Cydar Medical’s pilot program has passed an early milestone in its application of artificial intelligence to endovascular procedures. 
• A physician in the 40-site global pilot has provided endovascular treatment using Cydar Maps, a product that generates a 3D map of soft tissue to support image-guided minimally invasive surgery.
• Medtronic and Cydar see the program as a way to develop predictive analytics to support procedure planning. The analytics will assess factors such as the risk of endoleaks, a common complication of endovascular aneurysm repair surgery in which blood flows outside the stent graft and into the aneurysm sac, and sac regression probability.

Dive Insight:

Medtronic partnered with Cydar last year. At the time, the medtech company outlined plans to assess Cydar’s technology in a pilot program. The software combines cloud computing, computer vision and machine learning to support surgical visualization and decision-making. Clinicians can create 3D maps of patients for procedure planning, image-guided navigation and post-operative review.

Cydar has generated evidence that the software, which has 510(k) clearance, can cut radiation exposure and procedure times. Medtronic has identified the Cydar technology as a way to improve the use of its endovascular stent grafts, in part because independent studies have shown the benefits of the system, and to differentiate itself.

The device maker said it is “the first medical device company to enter a public strategic collaboration in digital endovascular technology to advance aortic patient treatment decisions.”

George Pontikis, a vascular surgeon at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois, became the first physician to treat a patient in the pilot program earlier this month. In a Medtronic statement about the milestone, Pontikis said the “cutting-edge technology empowers us with the ability to navigate complex vascular procedures with greater precision, ensuring optimal outcomes for our patients.”

Medtronic and Cydar now plan to continue supporting the enrollment and treatment of patients through the pilot program. The pilot is activating sites across the U.S., U.K. and Europe to bring image-guided endovascular procedures to more patients. Medtronic shared news of the Cydar pilot program milestone shortly after reporting a 5.5% increase in cardiovascular sales in its first quarter results.