Israel’s Zebra Medical Vision has teamed up with Johnson & Johnson subsidiary DePuy Synthes to jointly bring cloud-based AI solutions to the orthopaedic and bone health industry.

Under the partnership, Zebra Medical Vision’s machine learning algorithms will be used to create three-dimensional models of patients from X-ray images.

Conventional orthopaedic procedures are based on two-dimensional CT scans or MRI imaging to assist with pre-operative planning.

However, CT scans and MRI imaging can be expensive, associated with more radiation and are painful for some patients.

Zebra Medical Vision co-founder and CEO Eyal Gura said: “We are thrilled to start this collaboration and have the opportunity to impact and improve orthopaedic procedures and outcomes in areas including the knee, hip, shoulder, trauma, and spine care.

“We share a common vision surrounding the impact we can have on patients’ lives through the use of AI, and we are happy to initiate such a meaningful strategic partnership, leveraging the tools and knowledge we have built around bone health AI in the last five years.”

The company plans to introduce this technology as part of DePuy Synthes’ VELYS Digital Surgery solutions for pre-operative, operative, and post-operative patient care.

DePuy Synthes develops surgical devices used to treat fractures and orthopaedic injuries.

In 2017, Zebra Medical Vision signed a partnership deal with India-based Teleradiology Solutions’ (TRS) technology arm Telerad Tech to jointly deploy artificial intelligence to improve medical imaging diagnosis.

In November, Zebra Medical Vision secured 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its HealthCXR device, which enables identification and triaging of pleural effusion in chest X-rays.