Medtech in a Minute: Medtronic's Latest Robotics Move, and More

Medtronic's Latest Collab Could Give It an Edge in Robotics

Medtronic is leveraging Touch Surgery Enterprise, its AI-powered management and analytics platform for the operating room, developed by a division of the company's surgical robotics group. The contract with Vizient, a healthcare performance improvement company for nearly half the nation’s healthcare providers, expands Medtronic’s reach so the company can more easily implement Touch Surgery Enterprise in hospitals and clinics. A fully integrated hardware and software system connected to the cloud, Touch Surgery Enterprise works with many laparoscopic and robotic scopes and enables hospitals to take the first step to digitizing their operating room while using existing equipment.

Memic Throws in the SPAC Towel

Yet another device company is throwing in the towel for a special purpose acquisition corporation (SPAC) merger. Memic Innovative Surgery, a surgical robotics firm, and Medtech Acquisition Corps mutually nixed a merger because of market conditions and associated volatility related to recent world events. The proposed merger was first announced last August and would have given the combined company a $1 billion valuation.

And in case you missed our last Medtech in a Minute report...

J&J's Game-Changing Contact Lenses

FDA approved Johnson & Johnson's drug-eluting contact lens designed to treat allergic eye itch for contact lens wearers and reduces the need for eyedrops. Each Acuvue Theravision with Ketotifen lens contains 19 mcg of ketotifen – a well-established antihistamine.use a well-established antihistamine.

Dexcom Moves Closer to Hospital Setting

The wheels for using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) systems in the hospital setting were put in motion early on during the pandemic, as FDA allowed both Dexcom and Abbott to supply CGM systems to hospitals. The devices allowed frontline healthcare workers in hospitals to remotely monitor patients' glucose levels while minimizing exposure to the virus and preserving use of personal protective equipment. Dexcom quickly saw the decision as an opportunity to possibly expand the use of the technology down the road to include hospital use beyond COVID-19. That road led to a recent breakthrough device designation to allow Dexcom to do just that.

Pear's Reimbursement Efforts Bear Fruit

In response to Pear Therapeutics' application, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) established a new code to describe prescription digital behavioral therapy, FDA cleared, per course of treatment. The code includes prescription digital therapeutics such as Pear's reSET, reSET-O, and Somryst, which are FDA authorized for the treatment of substance use disorder, opioid user disorder, and chronic insomnia, respectively. The code is scheduled to become effective on April 1.