Cleveland Clinic Innovations has spun off a new startup: a company that’s developing software to help orthopedic surgeons better plan operations.
Custom Orthopaedic Solutions‘ in-development OrthosVis software imports a patient’s CT scan and then produces a 3-D model that physicians can use to rotate, zoom and view cross-sectional images of the patient’s bone.
The company says its software can improve the accuracy and effectiveness of preoperative surgical planning.
Custom Orthopaedic Solutions (COS) was founded on technology developed by Dr. Joseph Iannotti, chair of the Clinic’s Orthopaedic and Rheumatologic Institute.
“There’s tremendous value in doing preoperative planning in the three-dimensional space and then having a mechanism to take the information to the [operating room] to better execute,” Iannotti said in the Innovations’ group’s inaugural newsletter.
It’s likely that the new company will be given a prominent role at the Clinic’s annual Medical Innovations Summit this year, which has an orthopedics theme and is scheduled for the end of October.
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A Clinic spokesman said no one was available to discuss the company’s background. COS is not yet included on the Innovations’ group’s list of spinoff companies, indicating that company officials are likely hoping to keep things quiet while COS continues product development.
COS is developing two other products. The first is a patient-specific bone model that’s “like holding an exact copy of a patient’s bone in your hand.” The second is an enhanced patient-specific bone model that contains additional surgical planning information, such as information on where a surgical pin can be placed.
The bone models can be cut, screwed and practiced on for preoperative surgical planning. Some of the models can be sterilized for intraoperative use, according to the company.
[Photo from flickr user brainsik]
