3D Systems’ VSP Connect Streamlines Preoperative Planning for Better Patient Outcomes

3D Systems’ VSP Connect is a centralized, cloud-based surgical planning portal that integrates automated workflows and artificial intelligence (AI). As part of the company’s VSP surgical planning solutions, VSP Connect empowers device manufacturers and surgeons with real-time patient case visualization and improved collaboration capabilities.

VSP Connect is powered by Enhatch, with whom the company entered a partnership in 2022 to scale personalized medical device delivery. The solution incorporates Enhatch’s AI and automation technologies with 3D Systems’ FDA-cleared workflows for patient-specific solutions, including advanced software, expert planning services, personalized implant and instrument design, and industry-leading 3D printers and manufacturing processes. This combination is said to improve visibility for health care systems and medical device manufacturers, and streamlines the preoperative planning process — helping make personalized procedures more efficient while delivering improved outcomes.

“VSP Connect is the missing link in surgical planning, bridging the gap between patient care and cutting-edge technology,” says Michael Phipps, Enhatch CTO/president. “With Enhatch's advanced AI and automation capabilities, the portal gives surgeons the opportunity to reduce planning times and perform more patient-specific surgeries.”

3D Systems’ VSP surgical planning solutions are said to combine best-in-class digital workflows with the industry’s broadest additive manufacturing (AM) portfolio of printers and materials to deliver comprehensive patient-matched solutions. VSP Connect enhances these capabilities through automated workflows that strengthen communication between all stakeholders (such as device representatives, case managers, patient-specific device designers and surgeons), while facilitating compliance with industry regulations and internal accuracy protocols.

With the help of AI, VSP Connect offers pre-populated designs that are tailored to both individual surgeon preferences as well as to standard types of products. The secure, cloud-based portal aggregates disparate processes to provide a single intuitive interface enabling 24/7 access to the status of a case and the ability to send notes or alerts. This seamless, end-to-end experience streamlines the preoperative planning process — from surgical planning to the production and delivery of patient-specific implants and instruments — resulting in reduced procedure times and improved patient outcomes.

“3D Systems is on a mission to transform health care through the use of additive manufacturing to make patient care easier and smarter,” says Benjamin Johnson, vice president, portfolio and regulatory, health care, 3D Systems. “With VSP Connect, we are providing access to the health care industry’s most complete additive manufacturing ecosystem. Combined with Enhatch technology, our unified approach makes it easier to deliver patient-specific implants and instrumentation in a more efficient, cost-effective manner. It’s part of our ongoing commitment to innovation and helps ensure our customers are at the forefront of medical device development and healthcare delivery.”

3D Systems has worked with surgeons for more than a decade to plan more than 150,000 patient-specific cases, and manufacture more than two million implants and instruments for 100+ CE-marked and FDA-cleared devices from its FDA-registered, ISO 13485-certified facilities in Littleton, Colorado, and Leuven, Belgium.

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