Northwell Ventures Presents: Gauss Surgical is Truly Innovating the OR

Traditionally, operating room (OR) doctors and nurses have had to rely on their eyes or lengthy weighing procedures to estimate blood loss. Northwell Ventures’ latest investment in Gauss Surgical, an AI-driven healthcare technology company, has taken the guesswork out of the operating room.

Gauss’s flagship product, Triton, uses digital imaging and machine learning to monitor blood loss during surgery in real time, all on an easy-to-use iPad. This is Truly Innovative technology for any surgical patient, but it makes a real difference to maternal health care, a specialty in which complications have significantly increased in the U.S in the last 15 years.

Triton is the answer to many preventable maternal deaths and harmful postpartum health complications from undetected hemorrhaging. According to a recent study of 2,781 cesarean section patients published in the American Journal of Perinatology, Triton is associated with significant increases in recognition of maternal hemorrhage and decreases in blood product transfusions and length of hospital stay.

In today’s operating rooms, blood loss is calculated by staff through a visual estimate or with a time-consuming weight-based method. Though a visual estimate is quicker, it can lead to an underestimation of blood loss. Triton provides the accuracy of a weight-based estimate, but with nearly immediate calculations and without disrupting the surgical workflow. By allowing OR staff to detect blood loss in an accurate and real-time system, Triton allows teams to mobilize hemorrhage response more quickly.

Like several of the healthcare systems invested in Gauss, Northwell Health is already using Triton in our hospital delivery rooms. Our investment will be used to put Triton in more hospitals to serve more patients and to develop new AI-driven applications to bring the future of technology to the operating room.

And innovation doesn’t stop with the introduction of this investment. In the future, Northwell aims to use Triton’s technology to further increase patient care. By implementing the device into the next phase of hemorrhage protocol, Triton will trigger an automated alert to let team members and the blood bank know when they’re needed. This will reduce response time in getting the patient the treatment they need – without having an OR staff member stop to make a phone call.

“Gauss’ Triton system sets the standard for the type of innovations we endorse as a strategic investment in technology. It transforms the way the system works, improves clinical outcomes and provides a clear improvement in ROI because of the reduced downstream cost of care. In addition, Gauss’ platform has the potential for an even greater and expanding role in the operating room to transform quality, safety, and cost.” says Eric Feinstein, Investment Director at Northwell Health.

Learn more about Northwell Ventures other initiatives here. 

This post is part of a series focusing on the Truly Innovative concepts and technologies brought to life by Northwell Ventures. We invest in companies that will generate strategic returns- creating products that meet healthcare needs now and in the future. Northwell Ventures showcases our investment in unique and noteworthy innovations that will impact our work and the health of all.