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SmartTRAK Life Sciences News and Analysis Blog

4 min read

Spotlight on VISIE: AAOS 2025 OrthoPitch Winner

By Elise Wolf on 5/27/25 9:30 AM

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 ...

Click the button below to download the complete transcript of our interview with Visie President and CEO Douglas Fairbanks conducted by Elise Wolf, GM & VP, SmartTRAK Orthopedics & Quality.Get the Transcript
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9 min read

What's New in Orthopedics Research & Development

By Thomas Wallick on 2/27/23 11:28 AM

In recent years, there have been significant advances in orthopedic treatments, surgical techniques and rehabilitation methods that have transformed the way we approach musculoskeletal disorders.SmartTRAK continues to report daily, in real-time on the challenges still ahead, covering all aspects of the Orthopedic market: Extremities, OrthoBio, Spine, Computer Assisted Surgery, Total Joints, Trauma, Soft Tissue Fixation and EU Extremities and Trauma.

SmartTRAK features curated content by our team of industry experts, bringing the most relevant information and insight directly to you in real-time. Learn about the latest news, emerging technologies or start-ups to watch, conference happenings and more via articles, videos and interviews and Be The Expert.

The following is just a small sampling of recent Orthopedic updates from around the world compiled, reviewed and posted daily by our SmartTRAK analysts.

New Products:

  • NuVasive*

    NUVA spoke about its upcoming product launches, including an expandable Lateral called MOD-EX XLIF and extended blade-fixation options for Modulus ALIF, and predicted that both will support the continued interest in NUVA. NUVA Q422 Earnings Transcripton Seeking Alpha

  • GMED mgmt stated the ortho robot will launch w/ a knee application first w/ other applications to follow, noting it is unlikely that gap-filling joint implant systems would be launched prior to the knee application for robotics. GMED Q422 Earnings Transcript on Seeking Alpha

  • CurvaFix announced a it will launch the 7.5 mm CurvaFix IM Implant, which received FDA clearance in Oct 2022, at this year’s AAOS annual meeting in Las Vegas. BusinessWire

Patents:

  • SeaSpine*

    7D Surgical was granted US Patent “Systems And Methods For Intraoperative Spinal Level Verification” disclosing the use of segmented surface data from volumetic pt image data compared w/ intra-op surface data to verify spine levels w/o x-rays. 11564752

  • Method for Treating Joint Pain  

    US Patent "Method for treating joint pain" was granted relating to treating joint pain by inserting a bone dowel and BMA into the subchondral of a bone and introducing BMA into the intra-articular space of the joint being treated. 11583402

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5 min read

Trends & Technologies in Total Joints: AAOS 2022

By Lisa Mahan on 4/11/22 9:32 AM

New products and signs of procedural recovery lighten the mood at AAOS 2022

The mood at the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons (AAOS) 2022 Annual Meeting was upbeat despite scaled-back attendance and exhibit space. Surgeons and exhibitors alike were excited to get back to in-person discussions about issues in orthopedics, new products hitting the market and the potential for recovery from the impact of COVID. While at the meeting, SmartTRAK met with industry professionals from clinicians to company representatives identifying key takeaways from market drivers and limiters to new product introductions.

(Continue reading to find out how to receive FREE SmartTRAK DAILY UPDATES)
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2 min read

A New View: AI-Driven Imaging

By Elise Wolf on 3/1/22 9:23 AM

In this article, SmartTRAK reviews the development of AI in healthcare and profiles four companies implementing AI-driven imaging in these spaces.

The US Orthopedic Computer-Assisted Surgery (CAS) Market is one of the fastest-growing markets in orthopedics and is expected to reach revenues of $1.14B by 2025, according to SmartTRAK estimates. The Orthopedic CAS market includes a range of enabling technologies including robotic platforms, navigation systems, surgical planning tools, augmented/virtual reality technology and artificial intelligence (AI). AI is being increasingly incorporated into diagnostics and planning to assist in optimization of surgical decision making and anomaly detection.
 
The prominence of AI and machine learning technologies in medicine has snowballed over the past decade. Diagnostic Imaging and navigation is experiencing a new paradigm of technology through the emergence of AI-driven 3D reconstruction, segmentation and navigation applications. Two areas seeing quick implementation and adoption of these new systems are orthopedic planning/navigation and neurovascular diagnostics. In this article, SmartTRAK reviews the development of AI in healthcare and profiles four companies implementing AI-driven imaging in these spaces.

Download the complete AI-Driven Imaging article

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2 min read

A Game-Changing Year for Robotics: Q420/FY20 CAS Ortho Recap

By Elise Wolf on 4/15/21 9:30 AM

Despite market challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a game-changing year for enabling technology for orthopedic surgery with robotics hitting an inflection point in acceptance, with record placements in Q420, and enabling technology across the entire continuum of care making significant inroads.

In Q420, MAKO* robot demand drove much of the 12.3% growth in Stryker’s* US Ortho Other segment. In 2020, MAKO’s installed base grew by 33%, and in Q420 hit a milestone of > 100 system installations at major teaching institutions, ASCs and in competitive accounts in the quarter. In fact, according to the Company, MAKO is now available in ~50% of fellowship programs at teaching institutions in US, as well as some in Europe, which will help the transition to standard of care. Stryker noted that new market entrants (Zimmer Biomet’s* ROSA*Smith & Nephew’s* CORI* and DePuy Synthes’* VELYS*) have not slowed MAKO momentum.

Among the many topics covered in the comprehensive Q420/FY20 CAS Ortho Market Recap* are:

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2 min read

Four Trends to Watch in 2021: Enabling Technology in Orthopedics and Spine

By Elise Wolf on 4/12/21 9:31 AM

COVID-19 threw a curveball to spine and orthopedic implant companies in 2020 with the downturn in elective procedures, but one area that continued to make inroads was enabling technologies. Given increasing advances and expanding adoption of these technologies, even during uncertain times, SmartTRAK highlights some significant trends to watch in 2021, including:

1. Flexible Business Models
Companies with robots (Stryker*, MAKO*, Zimmer Biomet*, ROSA*, Smith & Nephew*, NAVIO*/CORI*, Medtronic*, Mazor X*, Globus*, Excelsius GPS) continued to grow at above-market growth in 2020. Record-breaking robotic and navigation system placements in Q3 and Q420 bode well for ...

Download the complete "Four Trends to Watch in 2021" Article

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2 min read

A Post-Pandemic Recovery? Q420/FY20 CAS Spine Market Recap

By Elise Wolf on 4/8/21 9:30 AM

A post-pandemic recovery appears to be on the horizon in the CAS Spine space.

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