Smith & Nephew acquires interactive software technology to drive supply chain optimisation and improve savings for Syncera™ customers

LONDON, May 6, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Smith & Nephew (NYSE: SNN; LSE: SN), the global medical technology business, today announced the acquisition of two software assets from S2 Interactive, a surgical software development company. These important applications are utilised by Syncera, Smith & Nephew's innovative, new, orthopaedic supply chain model for hospitals and ambulatory surgery centres (ASCs).

The applications, Virtual Backtable® and TrayTouch®, allow hospital and ASC customers to access, analyse and manage real-time data related to instrument utilisation during surgery. This data allows central processing and operating room (OR) administrators to identify the instruments an individual surgeon uses during a specific procedure, assemble, prepare and streamline the instrument trays accordingly, and train the OR staff using interactive, visual layouts of each tray.

Arthroplasty surgery can involve the use of as many as 20 trays holding a total of 200 or more instruments, all of which need be counted, cleaned, inspected, assembled and sterilized before every surgery. In practice, however, a surgeon may only use a small number of these instruments during the surgery. By using the learning management modules within these new applications, a nurse or scrub technician setting up for surgery can quickly train themselves on each surgeon's preferences, identify the instrument sequence and quickly locate every instrument within the tray. 

"As operating rooms continue to look for ways to improve efficiency and trim costs, better instrument management becomes vital," says Stuart Morris-Hipkins, SVP and General Manager of Syncera. "By organising the instrument trays and the OR equipment based on the surgical sequence and the instrument usage of each surgeon, a hospital can significantly reduce the overall costs associated with instrument prep and assembly without sacrificing patient care."

The software applications acquired by Smith & Nephew are:

• Virtual Backtable (VBT) provides a visual map of each surgeon's preferences covering patient preparation, OR planning and the surgical sequence. VBT also provides a learning management module that helps train new scrub technicians on the surgical sequence, instrument flow and tray layout – potentially reducing training time by as much as 40 percent.
• TrayTouch improves the efficiency, and documents inspection of the central processing department that cleans, re-assembles and sterilises the instrument sets prior returning them to the OR's.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

About Syncera Syncera Value Solutions is a recently formed strategic business unit within Smith & Nephew that has been specifically crafted to provide attractive economics through clinically proven products and cutting-edge technology solutions within the primary reconstructive hip and knee marketplace. Its innovative business model brings value solutions to the OR with point-of-care technology that links and interfaces with the entire hospital or ASC supply chain system. For more information about Syncera, please visit www.syncera.com.            

About Smith & NephewSmith & Nephew is a global medical technology business dedicated to helping healthcare professionals improve people's lives. With leadership positions in Orthopaedic Reconstruction, Advanced Wound Management, Sports Medicine and Trauma & Extremities, Smith & Nephew has around 14,000 employees and a presence in more than 100 countries. Annual sales in 2014 were more than $4.6 billion. Smith & Nephew is a member of the FTSE100 (LSE: SN, NYSE: SNN).

For more information about Smith & Nephew, please visit our corporate website www.smith-nephew.com, follow @SmithNephewplc on Twitter or visit SmithNephewplc on Facebook.com

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SOURCE Smith & Nephew