Google and Johnson & Johnson Partners to Develop Advanced Surgical Robots

The main goal of the partnership is to improve the quality of health care in operating rooms.

Google has signed a deal with Ethicon, a medical devices company owned by Johnson & Johnson, to work on advanced surgical robots that will be a boon to doctors, health care institutions, and patients. Google and Ethicon will combine their capabilities, intellectual properties, and skills in developing a reliable robotic-assisted surgical platform that can support advanced technologies, Johnson & Johnson said in a statement.

The deal is expected to close in the second quarter this year, once the customary closing conditions are cleared. The main goal of the partnership is to improve the quality of health care in operating rooms. Google and Ethicon will attempt to create an advanced robotic-assisted platform for minimally invasive surgeries. To do this, a new batch of robotic tools will be developed to give surgeons better control, access, and accuracy during medical operations.

As one of the top technology companies in the world today, Google will integrate its computer technologies, such as its machine-vision and image-analysis software, to build surgical robots that can provide real-time imaging. For example, a surgical robot will assist surgeons by highlighting a patient’s blood vessels or edges of a tumor, which can be hard to detect.

Another plan is to gather a patient’s medical records or preoperative medical images such as MRIs and display them on a robot’s screen, saving doctors the hassle of having to use multiple screens for medical images during operation. Doctors won’t have to look at different screens to check previous surgeries and lab results; the surgical robot will display everything.

According to Gary Pruden, the chairman of Global Surgery Group at Johnson & Johnson, the partnership is an important step in the company’s commitment to advancing surgical care. “Together, we aim to put the best science, technology and surgical know-how in the hands of medical teams around the world,” he said. The financial details of the deal were not revealed.