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Giant Collaboration: Can 1+1 Be Greater Than 2?Medtronic, Siemens HealthineersAchieve Cooperation in the Field of Spinal SurgeryOn September 25 local time, Medtronic announced at the 39th Annual Meeting of the North American Spine Society (NASS) held in Chicago that Medtronic has established a partnership with Siemens Healthineers to explore opportunities for further expanding advanced preoperative and postoperative imaging technologies in spinal care.Medtronic and Siemens Healthineers plan to bring the Siemens Healthineers Multitom Rax™ imaging system to market and integrate the platform into Medtronic’s spinal surgery AiBLE™ ecosystem.The two companies also hope to cooperate in technology development, marketing, and commercial activities to improve clinical outcomes.Multitom Rax™ can be used for musculoskeletal disorders, including spinal patients. Multitom Rax™ features standing, weight-bearing imaging, cone-beam CT, and supine X-ray capabilities, supporting Medtronic's commitment to raising the standard of care across the entire continuum of care.President of Medtronic Cranial & Spinal Technologies, Skip Kiil, stated: "Our collaboration with Siemens Healthineers advances our commitment to reducing variability for spine patients and improving their outcomes. We are excited to partner with a leader in the imaging industry and leverage the depth of imaging expertise, commercial footprint, and shared dedication to data science to advance our AiBLE strategy in pursuit of better patient results."In addition to the official announcement of the above cooperation, Medtronic also stated that it will launch multiple software, hardware, and imaging innovation products. These enhancements aim to advance Medtronic's intelligent ecosystem AiBLE™, which integrates innovative navigation, robotics, data and artificial intelligence, imaging, software, and implants, making the outcomes of spinal and cranial surgeries more predictable.Medical Device Giants Frequently CollaborateIn addition to endogenous growth, Medtronic continues to drive innovation through acquisitions, collaborations, and other means. In the past two months, it has announced two consecutive collaborations with other multinational device giants.In August this year, Medtronic announced a significant collaboration with Abbott in the diabetes care field, establishing a major partnership. This collaboration aims to integrate Abbott's FreeStyle Libre CGM (FreeStyle Libre 3) product with Medtronic's automated insulin pump (MiniMed 780G) and smart insulin pen (InPen system) to jointly develop a comprehensive system.In China, Medtronic is also actively seeking cooperation.In April last year, Medtronic China II Fund announced its launch, which will deeply explore cutting-edge medical technologies such as digitalization, artificial intelligence, and robotics. It will invest in diagnostic and therapeutic products related to various major diseases such as cardiovascular, neurological, and oncological conditions, and utilize Medtronic's industry advantages to provide comprehensive post-investment management support for invested enterprises.At that time, Jeff Martha, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic, said in his speech at the scene that Medtronic is continuously leveraging cutting-edge technological breakthroughs to accelerate innovation in disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. However, the complexity of the challenges faced by the global healthcare system determines that no single company can achieve this vision independently. It requires all companies in the industry, regardless of size, to work together. The Medtronic China Phase II Fund will provide a platform for such a collaborative model.On September 20, Song Jingwei, Vice President of Finance, Business Development, and Investment for Medtronic Greater China, stated in a public setting that Medtronic’s headquarters has full confidence in the market of China’s healthcare industry. Currently, it has established a complete industry value chain in Shanghai, encompassing R&D, manufacturing, sales, training, incubation, and venture capital. The Medtronic Fund will actively explore cooperation opportunities with state-owned investment platforms to better support the development of the biopharmaceuticals industry.Currently, Medtronic's presence in China continues to deepen. In April last year, the groundbreaking ceremony for the Medtronic Kanghui Changzhou Science and Technology Park project took place. It is positioned as Medtronic's global production base and the global headquarters of Kanghui Medical. Once completed, the park will become an integrated science and technology hub featuring a smart manufacturing center, an excellence R&D center, an innovation incubation center, and a clinical customer center. At present, the project is proceeding with orderly construction. In March this year, the first product from the Medtronic Shanghai Lingang Medical Technology Industrial Base rolled off the production line.Across the global device market, the powerful alliances between multinational device giants have already been reflected in many fields. The complementary advantages between each other may just bring out the greatest innovation efficiency.On August 26, KARL STORZ announced a partnership with Fujifilm to jointly market KARL STORZ's operating room integration solutions and Fujifilm’s flexible gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopes. This collaboration will enable more efficient endoscopic operations and data management in the operating room, helping both parties expand their market reach and attract more healthcare clients.In March this year, Johnson & Johnson, GE Healthcare and other companies announced the progress of their cooperation with chip giant NVIDIA.It is reported that Johnson & Johnson will accelerate and expand the application of AI in surgical operations through its cooperation with NVIDIA. Johnson & Johnson will gain access to NVIDIA’s IGX Edge Computing Platform and Holoscan Edge AI Platform. The two parties also plan to introduce AI technology into medical imaging analysis, disease diagnosis, and other processes, while promoting cooperation in the field of medical education and training.GE Healthcare Hopes to Advance Medical Imaging Through the Introduction of Fundamental AI Technologies. It Is Reported That the Combination of Nvidia’s Accelerated Computing and AI Technologies with GE Healthcare’s Medical Imaging Expertise Helps Make Ultrasound Diagnostics Faster and More Accurate.In the future, the complementary advantages among the strong players may spark more innovative ideas.
Source: CPhI China Medical Devices
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