Augmedics adds Medtronic AI expert as VP R&D

CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Augmedics, a pioneer in augmented reality (AR) surgical navigation, today announced the appointment of Tal Davidson, MD as Vice President, Research & Development. Davidson was most recently AI Research Director and Site Lead for Medtronic’s Visionsense, the R&D site leading the development of intraoperative visualization and AI opportunities in minimal invasive surgery central to Medtronic’s OR of the Future strategic initiative.

The news comes a month after Augmedics strengthened its AR and AI portfolio with the acquisition of intellectual property and digital health assets from Surgalign and Holo Surgical following a competitive auction process supervised by the US Bankruptcy Court.

“The future of spine navigation exists at the intersection of best-in-class advanced visualization and decision support,” said Augmedics President & CEO Kevin Hykes. “Tal’s multidisciplinary leadership in intraoperative imaging & artificial intelligence is a tremendous asset as we build out the next generation of the xvision platform and continue our mission to deliver improved surgical outcomes for surgeons and their patients. We are proud to welcome Tal to the Augmedics team.”

Augmedics closed an $82.5 million financing round earlier this summer. The company celebrated its 25,000^th screw implanted using the xvision system in September.

About Augmedics

Augmedics pioneers cutting-edge augmented reality technologies to improve surgical outcomes. The company’s revolutionary xvision Spine System® allows surgeons to see patients’ anatomy as if they have “x-ray vision” and accurately navigate instruments and implants during spine procedures. The first-of-its-kind, FDA-cleared xvision has been used to treat over 4,500 patients and implant more than 25,000 pedicle screws across 21 US states. xvision has consistently demonstrated 97-100% accuracy of pedicle screw placement across multiple patient studies.

Augmedics has received numerous honors, including being named a 2021 Index Awards Finalist, a Fast Company World Changing Ideas Awards 2021 Finalist, and one of Time Magazine’s Best Inventions of 2020. It was recently featured in The Economist documentary How will businesses use the metaverse?

To learn more or schedule an xvision demo, visit augmedics.com.