August 23, 2023 — Medtronic is announcing the first patient treated in a global pilot program in collaboration with Cydar Medical. The pilot in our Aortic business spans up to 40 global sites using the latest artificial intelligence (AI) technology from Cydar Medical. Cydar’s unique technology is designed to enhance Medtronic’s unrivaled service and case support for physicians to validate long-term predictive capabilities and improve patient care. The first patient in the pilot program received endovascular treatment earlier this month in conjunction with Cydar’s Maps at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois by Dr. George Pontikis.
This strategic collaboration combines Medtronic’s innovation expertise in aortic care with Cydar’s AI technology. Medtronic is the first medical device company to enter a public strategic collaboration in digital endovascular technology to advance aortic patient treatment decisions, reflecting its ongoing commitment to advancing aortic care for physicians and their patients.
“This is a significant milestone in Medtronic’s collaboration with Cydar Medical as we aim to revolutionize endovascular aortic treatment with cutting-edge, digital solutions,” said Nina Goodheart, SVP and President of the Structural Heart & Aortic business at Medtronic. “We look forward to continued progress toward our vision to provide physicians with enhanced knowledge to get the best possible outcomes for their patients.”
Cydar Maps is the first product from Cydar’s AI technology platform that transforms the way information is provided to clinicians undertaking image-guided minimally invasive surgery. Cydar Maps generates a 3D map of patient soft tissue to support and integrate pre-operative planning, intra-operative guidance, and post-operative review of endovascular minimally invasive surgery, using AI to update the map throughout the patient journey. One of the reasons Medtronic chose Cydar Medical to pilot with is because Cydar Maps has been shown in independent studies to offer a number of benefits, including halving the radiation exposure for patients and the clinical team, simplifying the clinical workflow and increasing clinician confidence, which in turn can significantly reduce procedure times1, 2, 3.
"This is an important milestone for Cydar, to be working with Medtronic to accelerate the adoption of our AI-solution by the global endovascular community,” said Paul Mussenden, CEO of Cydar. “The goal is to provide clinicians with a more predictable and efficient way to perform minimally invasive image-guided procedures. We look forward to supporting the treatment of additional patients across the planned 40 sites and to continue the introduction of the exciting product developments we have planned over the course of the year ahead.”
Medtronic and Cydar anticipate this pilot program will be the first step in the development of predictive analytics to support procedure planning, by assessing factors such as the risk of endoleaks, sac regression probability and more.
“This cutting-edge technology empowers us with the ability to navigate complex vascular procedures with greater precision, ensuring optimal outcomes for our patients. We are honored to be a part of this innovative program and are eager to contribute to the advancement of endovascular aortic surgery,“ said George Pontikis, MD, vascular surgeon at Edward Hospital in Naperville, Illinois.
April 25, 2024 
