Olive Medical Corporation, a Utah-based privately held manufacturer of high definition (HD) visualization systems for minimally invasive surgery (MIS), has been acquired by DePuy Synthes.
DePuy Synthes Acquires MIS High-Def Visualization Company
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The 20 person company was founded in 2009 and provides the HD equipment to the operating room and physician offices. Its equipment has been sold in 20 countries and all manufacturing is done in the U.S.
A February 10, 2015 announcement from DePuy Synthes said Olive Medical’s visualization portfolio “augments the DePuy Synthes Mitek Sports Medicine arthroscopy line” and will allow the company to enter the arthroscopic visualization market to serve patients with shoulder, knee, hip, and small joint pain or injury.
Olive Medical’s systems, according to the company, “complement the Mitek Sports Medicine procedural enablement portfolio, which includes the VAPR Radiofrequency Systems with electrodes used for tissue ablation and coagulation, and the FMS fluid management and tissue debridement system, which maximizes and maintains optimal visualization along with integrated soft tissue and bone shaving functionality. Both the VAPR and FMS systems are used alongside visualization in the operating room.”
The combined portfolio and capabilities of the two companies will allow DePuy Synthes to continue development of “cost-effective” and “advanced visualization” solutions, said the company statement. Joining DePuy Synthes allows the Olive Medical technology to be provided through the larger company’s extensive global distribution system.
Cost-Containment Focus
“At Olive, we continue to keep cost-containment as our focus, ” said Olive Medical Chairman Michael Brown in a 2012 press release. “Our endoscope repair program, which has been FDA registered since 1997, provides a significant cost savings over that of the original manufacturer’s repair and exchange programs.” Customers can purchase just a camera system, or an entire endoscopic tower.
The company’s True HD Surgical Camera was selected as the 1st Place winner in the 2012 Visualization and Communication category for the Excellence in Surgical Product Awards.
No financial terms of the deal were disclosed.
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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