Indiana-based Zimmer Biomet has added artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities to its Omni intelligent operating room (OR) suite to optimise surgical workflow and procedural efficiency.

It does this by automating manual tasks and streamlining unnecessary technology and redundant hardware. The AI feature uses cameras to recognise and timestamp automatically key OR workflow milestones, including patient entry and exit, door count, the start and stop of anaesthesia, surgery and cleaning.

Surgical teams are guided through a process to help optimise OR workflow based on real-time access to workflow metrics.

“The Omni suite is more than just another manual integration, it is a smart system designed to work with OR staff throughout the procedure,” said Robert Kraal, vice president at Zimmer Biomet. “Now, with this new feature, surgical teams can utilise and rely on the Omni suite’s AI capabilities to optimise OR workflow. By providing data points that have been historically captured manually, if at all, surgical teams can improve OR workflow and minimise manual activities, allowing more time for patient care.”

The suite’s AI feature further expands the AI capabilities of ZBEdge, a suite of integrated smart, digital and robotic technologies designed to deliver transformative data-powered clinical insights with the goal of improving patient outcomes.

Last month, ZBEdge added predictive analytics capabilities with WalkAI, an AI model to predict post-operative gait (walking) speed recovery progress after hip or knee surgery.

“The Omni suite’s latest feature further enhances the value and utility of the Omni suite platform while adding AI capabilities to strengthen our ZBEdge connected intelligence suite,” said Ivan Tornos, chief operating officer of Zimmer Biomet. “The Omni suite, along with the smart, digital and robotic solutions that make up ZBEdge, allow us to create value innovation that unlocks data-driven insights to enhance the surgical experience for surgeons, care teams and patients.”

Zimmer Biomet is a medical technology company that uses integrated digital and robotic technologies that leverage data, data analytics and artificial intelligence.