Gauss Surgical

Gauss Surgical, established in 2011, developed a platform to address the critical unmet need for accurate, real-time measurement of blood loss in surgical and obstetric settings. The company was founded by Siddarth Satish, who was inspired to create a technological solution after observing the imprecise visual estimation methods used in operating rooms. Satish, who holds degrees in Chemical Engineering and Bioengineering, founded the company after his graduate work at UC Berkeley and UCSF and a fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, where he identified the opportunity to apply computer vision to this longstanding clinical challenge.

The company's flagship product, Triton, is an artificial intelligence-powered platform that uses a mobile device's camera, initially an iPad or iPhone, to scan surgical sponges and fluid-filled canisters. Its computer vision and machine learning algorithms then analyze the images to provide clinicians with an accurate, real-time quantification of a patient's blood loss. This system was designed to replace subjective visual guesswork, which is notoriously inaccurate and can lead to delayed intervention in hemorrhage situations, a leading cause of preventable maternal mortality. By providing precise data, Triton enables earlier recognition of hemorrhage, leading to more timely and appropriate blood transfusions, which can improve patient outcomes and reduce hospital stays.

Gauss Surgical operated on a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business model, providing its HIPAA-compliant platform to hospitals and health systems. The company achieved significant milestones, including receiving De Novo clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2014, marking it as the first computer vision software approved for surgical use. It also secured CE Mark approval in Europe and won an Apple Design Award. The company raised substantial venture capital, including a $20 million Series C round in 2018 with investments from strategic partners like Northwell Health and SoftBank Ventures Korea, to accelerate adoption and development. In a strategic move to broaden its impact, medical technology giant Stryker acquired Gauss Surgical in September 2021.

Keywords: medical computer vision, surgical blood loss, hemorrhage monitoring, maternal health, digital health, AI diagnostics, medtech, operating room technology, patient safety, mobile health