VISIE CEO Doug Fairbanks discusses the company’s 3D scanning technologies and its vision for the future of enabling technology in orthopedics in an interview with SmartTRAK.

At this year’s American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) Annual Meeting in San Diego, orthopedic startups were in the spotlight in the second annual OrthoPitch event, a Shark Tank-like competition sponsored, in part, by SmartTRAK. Medtech startup VISIE rose to the top to win the event out of forty applicants. VISIE’s optical scanning technology uses white and infrared light, provides non-invasive ‘snap’ registration in under a second, and can be used with or without CT to drive surgical robotic arm positioning without tracking arrays. Doug Fairbanks, CEO of VISIE, discussed the company and its goal to introduce pinless tracking for orthopedic procedures in a recent interview with SmartTRAK.

To find out more, listen to the following video (18:18 min). Below is a link to download the complete transcript of the interview. 

 

SmartTRAK: Hi, this is Elise Wolf, VP and GM of Orthopedics and Enabling Technology at SmartTRAK. Today, I'm speaking with Doug Fairbanks, CEO of VISIE. Welcome, Doug. And I want to start out by congratulating you and the entire VISIE team for winning this year's AAOS OrthoPitch event.

Doug Fairbanks: Hi. Thank you, Elise. Thank you for having me. And we're all excited.

It's no small feat. I think it was 40 applicants vying for a spot to pitch their company and technology at the finals. And then you were up against three other companies in the finals, 16 BIT, Auctus Surgical and SentryX to be crowned this year's winner. I'm really excited to share with our subscribers a little bit more about VISIE and your vision for the company. So why don't you give a little background about yourself and about the company?

DF: Thank you. First of all, that was a really remarkable competition for us, and the competition was really stiff, right? We talked to a lot of folks in a lot of places, and it's rare that we run up against competition that I think is so profound and so talented, and delivers so much value for patients in the future. So we were very pleased to be the top on that day and we're excited for the recognition of the company. My name's Doug Fairbanks. I'm the president and CEO of VISIE, formerly Advanced Scanners. I've been in orthopedics for about 15 years. I spent the entirety of my career kind of at the intersection of technology, the OR and commercialization.

I've had the pleasure of working in a lot of different roles with a bunch of different companies. Zimmer, DePuy, I worked at Brainlab in the orthopedics unit for a while, and was really close to how technology integrates with patients. And I'm excited that when I saw what Advanced Scanners was doing at the time, I stopped dead in my tracks. I turned to my wife and I said, ‘I have to go there. I have to go work at that company. That is something special. That is something that's going to change the world.’ And here I am a little over two and a half years later and the company is doing remarkable things. I feel bad that I get to stand in front of everybody and take credit and say we're great. But there's a bunch of really remarkable, very intelligent people who work in the office here, who show up every day and push to the very edge of what is scientifically possible for the benefit of patients and surgeons.

I love it. I think what you're doing is really a paradigm shift in the enabling technology space. So could you describe a little bit about what is the technology with the 3D scanners and what really you're aiming to do, and how you're looking to change the landscape?

DF: When I think about the challenges of the OR, we really have to think as a startup, are we locked onto a problem? Do we see that there's an opportunity to do better? And years ago, I asked myself, ‘Hey, are computers and technology going to be more or less part of our lives going forward?’

I think surgeons are asking themselves the same question, ‘How do I use the benefits or utilize all that computing has to offer, while still integrating into my practice and treating patients in the only way that surgeons can do?’

So when we looked at the problem of robotics, navigation and AR-VR, we realized that ...

SmartTRAK highlights Surgical Theater and its novel 3D visualization technology at ISASS 2025.

Dennis Roy, director of product management at Surgical Theater, discusses the company and its novel 3D visualization technology in an interview with SmartTRAK at the International Society for the Advancement of Spine Surgery (ISASS) 2025 Annual Conference in Miami, Florida, April 10-12, 2025. The technology merges multiple imaging modalities into a patient-specific model that surgeons can leverage across the entire patient continuum of care. The comprehensive “eXperiential Reality” (XR) environment includes augmented reality, virtual reality, mixed reality and artificial intelligence.

Click on the following video to find out more (2:45 min). A link to download a complete transcript of the interview is also provided below. 

Interview

SmartTRAK: Hi, this is Elise Wolf at SmartTRAK. Today I am with Dennis Roy, director of product management at Surgical Theater. We're here at the ISASS meeting.

Dennis Roy: Nice to meet you.

Nice to meet you, Dennis. So, why don't you tell us a little bit about Surgical Theater and your technology?

DR: So, Surgical Theater is a 3D visualization company. We specialize in taking multiple modalities and merging them into a patient-specific model. So, the idea is that overall we are able to design, we're able to display and deliver a full, comprehensive solution that the surgeon is able to take across the patient care continuum. So, from engagement with the patient themselves, building a surgical plan and then being able to bring that plan into the operating room.

And what kind of imaging do you use to create your models?

DR: So, with ours we can actually incorporate CTs and MRIs as well as ...

Want to know more about Surgical Theater and its novel 3D visualization technology? Click the button below to download the complete transcript of our interview with Dennis Roy, Director of Product Mgmt, Surgical Theater, Inc., conducted by Elise Wolf, GM & VP, SmartTRAK Orthopedics & Quality.

SmartTRAK highlights AAOS’ OrthoPitch 2025 finalists.

Innovation has always been a key growth driver in orthopedics and startups have been responsible for some of the most novel and innovative orthopedic products ever to reach the market. At the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2025 Annual Meeting in San Diego, orthopedic startups were in the spotlight in the second annual OrthoPitch event, a Shark Tank-like competition sponsored, in part, by SmartTRAK.

Forty companies applied, but only four reached the finals and made their pitches at the event. In this article, SmartTRAK highlights the companies and technologies that made it to the OrthoPitch finals and announces the winner of the competition.

The finalists were:

• VISIE
  • VISIE, formerly known as Advanced Scanners, is a medtech startup located in Austin, TX. The company has developed proprietary hardware and software that ... (read more)
• 16 Bit
  • 16 Bit is a radiologist-founded medical technology company, located in Toronto, Ontario, focused on creating ... (read more)
• Auctus Surgical
  • California-based Auctus Surgical has developed a flexible tether implant designed for ... (read more)
• SentryX
  • SentryX, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company founded as a spin-out of the University Medical Center Utrecht in The Netherlands, has developed ... (read more)

SmartTRAK is proud to sponsor events such as OrthoPitch that foster an environment of innovation in orthopedics. We congratulate Visie, 16 Bit, Auctus Surgical and SentryX on making it to the final round.

AND THE WINNER IS ...

Click the button below to read more about each company's innovation and to find out who won the second annual OrthoPitch at AAOS 2025.

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SmartTRAK is the Medtech industry’s only global Insights-as-a-Service solution for the Orthopedics, Wound Care, Regenerative Medicine and Neuro Therapy markets.  SmartTRAK’s propriety methodology turns disparate data from hundreds of sources into powerful insights customers can rely on as the trusted source for strategic decision-making. The  SmartTRAK enterprise platform includes rich daily updates, comprehensive market coverage and simple-to-use tools and dashboards for market, product and financial analysis. Customers leveraging the  SmartTRAK platform also have direct access to market experts for inquiries and advisory services. If you would like a demo of what  SmartTRAK has to offer and see how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click  here. 

 

SmartTRAK delves into recent spinal implant divestitures.

The global Spinal Implant Market has seen an increasing number of divestitures in recent years. Large strategics are streamlining their portfolios, while private equity firms and specialized manufacturers are capitalizing on the opportunity to acquire divested assets. In this article, SmartTRAK explores the key drivers behind these divestitures, notable transactions and the broader implications for the industry, including:

• Recent Divestitures from Key Players
  • In January, Stryker (SYK) announced a definitive agreement to sell its US spinal implants business to the Viscogliosi Brothers (VB), a New York-based investment firm focused on neuro and musculoskeletal technologies. VB Spine is set to become ... (read more)
• Why the Shake-ups? 
  • The Spine Hardware Market is characterized as a very SKU-heavy business with little differentiation among implants, making it expensive and requiring savvy and specialized operations to ensure profitability. Market-leading strategics, Medtronic (MDT) and Globus (GMED) are acquiring ... (read more)
• Focus on Interventional Market
  • With ZBH and SYK exiting the spinal fusion space altogether, other companies are targeting adjacent high-growth markets, where there is a much larger population of chronic low back pain (CLBP) patients to treat in lieu of fusion. Post divestiture, SYK will retain ... (read more)
• Continued Evolution Expected
  • Consolidation and specialization in the Spine Market could lead to improved product quality, better integration of new technologies and enhanced patient outcomes. SmartTRAK expects the Spine Market 
    will ...(read more)
    
    

Curious about the latest transactions and trends in the Spine Market and the broader implications for the industry? Click the button below to download the complete market outlook article, "Spine Market Shake-Up: Trends, Drivers and What’s Next" by Elise Wolf, SmartTRAK VP& GM, Orthopedics & Quality.

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SmartTRAK is the Medtech industry’s only global Insights-as-a-Service solution for the Orthopedics, Wound Care, Regenerative Medicine and Neuro Therapy markets. SmartTRAK’s propriety methodology turns disparate data from hundreds of sources into powerful insights customers can rely on as the trusted source for strategic decision-making. The SmartTRAK enterprise platform includes rich daily updates, comprehensive market coverage and simple-to-use tools and dashboards for market, product and financial analysis. Customers leveraging the SmartTRAK platform also have direct access to market experts for inquiries and advisory services. If you would like a demo of what SmartTRAK has to offer and see how we can help increase proficiency, improve productivity and reduce costs for your company, just click here.

Technological advances, new market entrants and novel technology continue to make waves at NASS 2024.

SmartTRAK attended this year’s 39th Annual North American Spine Society (NASS) meeting in Chicago, IL, which took place September 25-28, 2024. With the attendance of industry professionals rivaling that of surgeons at this year’s meeting, enabling technology continued to make waves on the exhibit floor yet again. The ongoing focus on enabling tech is not surprising given that robotics and navigation platforms have continued to support Spine Hardware Market growth in recent years. To date in 2024, SmartTRAK estimates that the Enabling Tech Market for Robotics and Navigation has increased at near double-digits (+9.6% growth) YoY through Q224, according to SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard. 

Among the many topics discussed in this article are:

• Robot Wars Heating Up in Spine
  • Robotics were on display from market leaders Medtronic (MDT) and Globus Medical (GMED) at NASS 2024. MDT announced new advancements in its AiBLE ecosystem including ... (read more)
• Augmented/Mixed Reality on Display
  • Augmented reality-based navigation solutions were also showcased at the meeting. At NASS 2024, SmartTRAK learned that the Augmedics xvision augmented-reality based intraoperative navigation system has been used to treat ... (read more)
• Novel Handheld Navigation Designed to Overcome Challenges
  • In a NASS 2024 Symposium entitled “The Symbiosis of Robotics, Enabling Technology and Minimally Invasive Surgery,” panelists mentioned that one limitation of many robotic and navigation systems is ... (read more)
• Ongoing Technological Advances
  • With increasing adoption of enabling technologies and a growing level of experience in using them in spine procedures comes a better understanding of the advantages and limitations of current assistive technology solutions. Companies across the industry from large strategics to small start-ups are continuing to make ... (read more)

Click the button below to download and read the complete "NASS 2024: Enabling Tech Still Making Waves" market perspective article by Elise Wolf, GM & VP, SmartTRAK Orthopedics & Quality.

SmartTRAK highlights four key trends to watch in orthopedic enabling tech displayed at the 2024 AAOS and Canaccord Genuity Musculoskeletal Conferences.

Enabling technology was a hot topic of discussion at the 2024 Canaccord Genuity (CG) Musculoskeletal Conference and was a big focus at this year’s American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) annual meeting in San Francisco, California.   SmartTRAK  highlights four key trends noted at the meetings and expected through 2024 and beyond in orthopedic enabling tech and reports on key news from 17 companies in this space, ranging from multinational strategics to start-ups.

 

SmartTRAK's four key trends to watch in orthopedic enabling tech, which are discussed in detail in this downloadable Market Outlook article, are: 

• • Continued Growth in Ortho Robotics 
    • Similar to the last several years, robotics continued to be a large focus of orthopedic enabling tech at this year’s meetings, with SmartTRAK projecting ... (read more)
      
  • Navigation Targeted to ASC
    • Newer navigation technologies are overcoming the hurdles of traditional navigation systems and are making headway into the ASCs with designs targeted specifically to ... (read more)
  • Augmented Reality Gaining Traction
    • Intraoperative augmented reality continued to be an area of interest at the AAOS and Canaccord meetings this year, and SmartTRAK noted an ever-expanding number of ... (read more)
      
  • Advances in Smart Implants
    • Smart implants will continue to advance in 2024 as companies launch new products and work toward expanded applications. In addition to next-generation knee robotics and partial cementless knees ... (read more).
      

Click the button below to download and read the complete "Orthopedic Enabling Tech Trends at AAOS and Beyond" Market Outlook article by Elise Wolf, GM & VP, SmartTRAK Orthopedics, Digital & Quality.

Q422 was a banner quarter for ortho enabling tech installations, technological advances and expanding applications on the horizon.

The Q422 WW Ortho Enabling Tech Market was down -7.2% YoY, according to SmartTRAK Financial Dashboard . Stryker (SYK) remained the market leader with 65.1% share, followed by Smith+Nephew (SNN), Zimmer Biomet (ZBH) and DePuy Synthes (JNJ). For detailed Q422 revenues and shares by company in the US, EU and ROW, see the SmartTRAK Ortho Enabling Tech Financial Dashboard .*

 

Among the many topics explored in detail in this comprehensive article are: