Google is making surgical robots with Johnson & Johnson

It looks like your medical surgeon might one day be, or at least be assisted by, a Google robot.

Google has partnered with a lot of companies in recent years on various different projects, but it's latest partnership is a bit of surprise. Medical and pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson has just announced it is advancing surgical robotics in collaboration with Google.

Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon medical device arm is sharing intellectual property and expertise with Google's Life Sciences team in order to develop a robotic-assisted surgical platform that will benefit surgeons, patients, and health care systems. The platform will not only integrate advanced technologies with the goal of improving health care, but it will also allow surgeons to have more control and accuracy during procedures.

"Robotic-assisted surgery is a type of minimally invasive surgery that uses technology to give surgeons greater control, access and accuracy during the surgical procedure while benefitting patients by minimising trauma and scarring, enabling accelerated post-surgical healing," explained Johnson & Johnson, while highlighting that it wants to develop new robotic tools and capabilities for surgeons and operating room professionals.

The idea is that these new robotic tools will feature cutting-edge medical device technology, robotic systems, imaging and data analytics, and when these aspects are combined, they'll be able to advance surgical care around the world.

This isn't the first time Google has experimented with medical-themed projects. It has a Google Fit health data service, for instance, and it backs the Calico life science company.

Google is making surgical robots with Johnson & Johnson

• Source: Johnson & Johnson