How Medtronic Is Strengthening Its Robotics Portfolio

Leading medical-device company Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) has received two Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearances in the past month for its advanced technology in spinal surgery. These may be crucial as the company looks to jump-start growth by expanding its footprint in the robotic-assisted surgery space.

In late June, the FDA cleared Medtronic's LigaPASS 2.0 device to help correct spinal deformities. The device allows the surgeon to stabilize the spinal vertebrae to prevent them from collapsing after the surgical procedure. Mechanical failure after the operation is relatively common, but Medtronic says that its ligament augmentation system lowers the need for a follow-up surgery from 16% to only 3% of patients. 

In July, the FDA gave a green light to Medtronic's UNiD Spine Analyzer v4.0 planning platform. This system adds machine learning to help surgeons prepare for a spinal surgery, and marks the first FDA clearance of a predictive model for spinal surgery.

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Source Fool.com