Connected Services for Robot-Assisted Medical Technology

From Need to Vision

An innovative MedTech company in the field of robot-assisted surgery is pursuing a clear vision:

To optimally support surgical teams worldwide through intelligent and networked technology.

In order to enable remote services, software updates and digital maintenance processes in the future, the devices of a new product line were to be securely connected to the cloud.
The aim of a proof of concept (PoC) was to show how device information can be efficiently recorded, managed and used for new service offerings.

The Path to a Solution

Together with doubleSlash, the medtech manufacturer developed a functional IoT pilot that demonstrated the end-to-end connectivity of the systems—from the device level to the cloud.

• Development of an edge agent based on proven connector templates (.NET, Java, Axeda, C, Docker)
• Simulation of device communication with realistic operating and diagnostic data
• Setting up an IoT platform instance using standardized templates from doubleSlash (Cloud Deployment / DevOps Toolkit)
• Establishment of basic device and asset management functions for managing and monitoring the device fleet
• Secure data flow from the device to the cloud—including transfer of log files, operating times and usage data

• Proof of bidirectional data exchange from the cloud to the device, e.g. via file push from the backend to the edge component
• Integration of the data in a cloud analytics environment (Azure Blob Storage / Databricks, Tableau) for evaluation
• Setting up platform-side alarms for critical device statuses
• (Possible) integration of the customer in the development of the PoC in order to gain a very good understanding of the solution (customer was onboarded and helped develop)

The close, agile collaboration resulted in a technically robust prototype in a short space of time, which impressively demonstrated the feasibility of networked device management.

From Poc to Sustainable Added Value

The proof of concept (PoC) impressively demonstrated the potential of networking medical devices.

With the new architecture, the manufacturer can:

• View device status and usage data in real time,
• diagnose and resolve service cases more quickly,
• and roll out software updates remotely and securely in the future.
   

This creates a solid basis for more efficient service, reduced downtimes and continuous product optimization based on real appliance data.

Business Benefits

• Faster service and support processes
• Reduced downtime thanks to remote updates
• Basis for new digital service offerings
• Future-proof device management
   

Technical Benefits

• Secure IoT architecture based on proven platforms
• Edge agent for reliable device connection
• Scalable cloud integration (Azure, Databricks)
• Fully documented implementation