Johnson & Johnson said today it will use Microsoft’s cloud computing services to better connect surgeons and patients in a digital surgery ecosystem.
New Brunswick, New Jersey–based Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) selected Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) as the preferred cloud provider for JNJ’s digital surgery solutions and to build out its digital surgery platform and internet of things (IoT) device connectivity. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“Collaborating with Microsoft will help take our digital approach to the next level as we create a best-in-class, unified platform across our innovative surgical technologies,” Johnson & Johnson Group CIO and Global Vice President of Medical Devices Larry Jones said in a news release, calling the partnership “an exciting step towards creating a connected patient journey across the entire care continuum, before, during, and after a procedure.”
JNJ said it will use the Microsoft Azure cloud, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, Microsoft 365 and Dynamics 365 to improve patient outcomes, increase device connectivity and accelerate digital innovation and transformation in digital surgery.
“We have the opportunity to transform how decisions are made in the most critical of circumstances — surgery,” Microsoft Corporate Vice President of Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Tom McGuinness said in an emailed statement. “By combining Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices Companies’ history of innovation with our comprehensive, trusted cloud and AI foundation and industry expertise, we’ll be able to empower faster, more informed decision-making to help enable significantly enhanced clinical and operational outcomes.”
Like competitors such as Zimmer Biomet and Medtronic, JNJ’s vision for an ecosystem around digital surgery starts before procedures with planning and pre-op. It then extends beyond surgeries with post-op monitoring and rehabilitation. JNJ is developing a surgical robotic system dubbed “Ottava” to compete with Intuitive Surgical’s da Vinci and Medtronic’s Hugo.
