NEW YORK, NY – December 17, 2024 – Surgical Safety Technologies (SST) is proud to announce an expansion of its partnership with Wellcome Leap, a global health initiative dedicated to advancing breakthroughs in health innovation, to expand access to surgical care and improve outcomes with The NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery. Through this expansion, SST’s renowned OR Black Box® solution will be deployed across seven countries to expedite surgeon training, minimize postoperative complications, and continue democratizing access to high quality, safe, and reliable care.
SST's involvement with Wellcome Leap’s SAVE (Surgery: Assess/Validate/Expand) program began in the spring of 2024, with researchers and academics leveraging the OR Black Box to measure the impact of new training models for minimally invasive abdominal surgery, and advanced sensing technology to detect deterioration. The NIHR Global Health Research Unit will leverage this same technology, particularly the OR Black Box module, Explorer™, to capture, categorize, and store audiovisual recordings of surgical cases. Participating SAVE performers will leverage this active video library to improve technique and training, facilitate peer review and coaching, and transform surgical safety and outcomes across Benin, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Mexico, Nigeria, and Rwanda.
The collaboration underscores the potential of leveraging AI-driven, ambient technology to address global healthcare challenges. The partnership aims to create a bespoke approach to surgical education and performance assessment, tailored to the unique needs of each region, that improves access to quality care for all.
“SST’s OR Black Box is a breakthrough technology that will help us address issues in the safety of surgical care worldwide,” said Tom Weiser, MD, SAVE Program Director at Wellcome Leap. “By bringing greater visibility into surgical procedures we can improve training and empower healthcare teams to expand access to surgical care, identify areas for improvement, implement evidence-based practices, and ultimately enhance patient outcomes. Expanding this to regions that often face resource constraints will have a profound impact on how we train surgeons both nationally and globally.”
“Surgical care is a cornerstone of global health, and equitable access to high-quality surgical training and insights is critical,” said Teodor Grantcharov, MD, Founder of SST. “Our collaboration with Wellcome Leap and the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery reflects our shared commitment to ensuring surgical care is safe and of the highest quality – wherever it is performed.”
The OR Black Box leverages ambient technology and artificial intelligence to capture every detail of the surgical environment and turn raw data into actionable, objective insights that drive clinical and operational excellence. It serves as the market’s singular, holistic solution for driving perioperative quality, safety, and efficiency improvements. For more information about Surgical Safety Technologies, the OR Black Box, and its unparalleled ability to improve access to high-quality, safe, and reliable surgical care, visit www.surgicalsafety.com.
About Surgical Safety Technologies
Surgical Safety Technologies Inc. (SST) is a mission-driven organization that is transforming healthcare through intelligent software solutions. Our comprehensive platform leverages advanced data analytics, audiovisual capabilities, AI, and machine learning to elevate patient safety, optimize operations, and facilitate continuous improvement across the perioperative, trauma recovery, and labor and delivery environments. Cutting-edge technologies enable autonomous risk detection, real-time operational analytics, predictive insights, and protocol auditing to empower clinicians with the intelligence to achieve superior outcomes. Built on research excellence through partnerships with leading hospitals, our innovative approach integrates with existing systems while future-proofing organizations through an open platform for emerging innovations. Delivering proven value with over 90 peer-reviewed publications, SST drives the future of intelligent healthcare globally. More information can be found at www.surgicalsafety.com.
About Wellcome Leap
Wellcome Leap accelerates discovery and innovation for the benefit of human health. It builds bold, unconventional programs and funds them at scale, with the goal of achieving breakthrough scientific and technological solutions within five to ten years. With funding of more than half a billion US dollars from the Wellcome Trust, Wellcome Leap has launched ten programs since 2020. Its global Health Breakthrough Network spans more than 1 million scientists and engineers from over 150 organizations across six continents. Operating at the intersection of life sciences and engineering, Leap programs require best-in-class, multi-disciplinary, multinational teams assembled from universities, companies, and nonprofits working together to solve problems that they cannot solve alone. For more information on Wellcome Leap, please visit www.wellcomeleap.org, or follow us on X and LinkedIn.
About the NIHR Global Health Research Unit on Global Surgery
The Global Surgery Unit (GSU) coordinates a global network of surgeons and leads international surgical research to improve surgical outcomes for their patients. It includes over 20,000 clinicians from over 100 countries. In 2017, the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Unit on Global Surgery was formed with a £7M grant. The Unit’s overarching aim is to improve the quality of life for billions of people around the world, by creating the world’s most sustainable surgical unit. The Unit conducts clinical research and surgical training to improve surgical outcomes worldwide. For more information, visit https://www.globalsurgeryunit.org/.
