Auris Health

Auris Health
ajay_suresh · CC BY 4.0 · source
Name	Auris Health
Type	Private
Industry	Medical devices
Founded	2011
Headquarters	Redwood City, California
Products	Robotic endoscopy systems
Fate	Acquired by Johnson & Johnson

Auris Health

Auris Health is a medical technology company focused on developing robotic systems for minimally invasive endoscopic procedures. Founded in 2011 and based in Redwood City, California, the company pursued robotic platforms aimed at improving image-guided diagnosis and therapy in pulmonary and gastrointestinal medicine. Auris Health attracted strategic investment and was later acquired by Johnson & Johnson through its Ethicon subsidiary, integrating into broader surgical robotics initiatives.

History

Auris Health was founded in 2011 by a team with ties to Stanford University, Carnegie Mellon University, and industry veterans from companies such as Intuitive Surgical and Thermo Fisher Scientific. Early funding rounds included venture capital from firms associated with Sequoia Capital, New Enterprise Associates, and strategic partners including GE Healthcare and Medtronic. The company developed through phases of prototype development, preclinical validation at institutions like Massachusetts General Hospital and Johns Hopkins Hospital, and clinical trials conducted at centers including Mayo Clinic and Cleveland Clinic. Auris Health announced its acquisition by Ethicon in 2019, a transaction that linked the company to the Johnson & Johnson corporate family and its surgical device portfolio.

Technology and Products

Auris Health developed robotic endoscopic platforms that combined robotic actuation, real-time imaging, and software for navigation. The flagship product, marketed under the brand name Monarch, integrated a flexible robotic endoscope with multi-modal visualization, including white light and video, and used navigation software similar to systems available from Siemens Healthineers and Philips Healthcare. The platform incorporated elements of sensor fusion and proprietary control algorithms influenced by research from MIT, University of California, San Francisco, and robotics groups at Carnegie Mellon University. Monarch was designed to enable bronchoscopic access to peripheral lung lesions and to interface with diagnostic tools from companies such as Boston Scientific and Becton Dickinson.

Clinical Applications

Clinical applications focused on minimally invasive diagnosis and intervention in pulmonary medicine and, to a lesser extent, gastroenterology. The Monarch system was used to assist bronchoscopists in sampling peripheral pulmonary nodules, complementing imaging modalities like computed tomography systems produced by GE Healthcare and Philips Healthcare. Procedures leveraged established clinical workflows from centers of excellence such as Dana-Farber Cancer Institute for lung cancer diagnosis and staging. Auris targeted collaborations with device manufacturers including Olympus Corporation for endoscopic accessories and with pathology laboratories associated with Mayo Clinic Laboratories for specimen processing.

Regulatory Approval and Safety

Auris Health pursued regulatory clearances through agencies such as the United States Food and Drug Administration and engaged with notified bodies relevant to European Union medical device directives. The Monarch Platform received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for use in bronchoscopic procedures after clinical studies assessing navigation accuracy and safety, conducted in partnership with hospitals like UCLA Health and NYU Langone Health. Post-market surveillance programs aimed to monitor device performance and adverse events in line with regulatory frameworks from agencies including the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency and Health Canada.

Corporate Structure and Acquisition

Prior to acquisition, Auris Health operated as a privately held company with executive leadership drawn from technology and medical device sectors, and a board including investors from firms such as Sequoia Capital and New Enterprise Associates. In 2019, Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson, announced the acquisition of Auris Health to bolster its robotics portfolio alongside initiatives led by Verb Surgical and collaborations with Verily. The acquisition integrated Auris into Johnson & Johnson's surgical solutions group and aligned the Monarch platform with Ethicon's product lines in minimally invasive surgery.

Research and Development

Auris Health maintained R&D collaborations with academic institutions including Stanford University School of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Imperial College London to refine robotic control, navigation algorithms, and imaging integration. The company published and presented data at conferences such as meetings of the American Thoracic Society and the Chest (journal) community, and engaged in investigator-initiated trials at sites like Brigham and Women's Hospital. Research directions included combining robotics with advanced imaging from vendors like Varian Medical Systems and exploring applications in interventional pulmonology and hybrid operating room workflows used by centers like Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Category:Medical technology companies Category:Robotics companies