Lazurite collabs with The Center for Health Affairs to revolutionize operating room with smart surgical tools

July 09, 2021
CLEVELAND--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Medical device and technology company Lazurite Holdings LLC (formerly Indago), today announced its collaboration with The Center for Health Affairs, the leading advocate for Northeast Ohio hospitals, and its business affiliate CHAMPS Healthcare, to bring revolutionary smart surgical tools to market and to operating rooms across Northeast Ohio and the United States.

Co-founded in 2015 by CEO Eugene Malinskiy, Lazurite is developing novel technologies for the future of surgical care with a smart platform for a highly efficient, tech-enabled suite of tools. The company’s product pipeline features the modular ArthroFree™ wireless camera system, which is expected to be the first FDA approved fully wireless minimally invasive camera system platform designed for the operating room; ORFree™, a prototype portable and wireless surgical tower in a briefcase designed for use with the ArthroFree wireless camera; and others based on the company’s novel and patented Meridiem™ light engine technology.

“This collaboration is yet another example of the game-changing health innovation that is underway in Northeast Ohio,” said Brian Lane, president and chief executive officer for The Center for Health Affairs and CHAMPS Healthcare. “For more than 100 years we have proven our commitment to impacting healthcare through the development of products and services in northeast Ohio and launching them nationally. True to our mission, The Center for Health Affairs’ guiding principles are to influence innovation and ultimately be a catalyst for healthcare transformation. The team at Lazurite is ready to revolutionize the operating room and we are excited to be part of that journey.”

“We are thrilled to collaborate with The Center for Health Affairs and CHAMPS Healthcare as we plan for the approval and launch of our first product, ArthroFree, which was developed in response to inefficiencies that we and our surgeon stakeholders identified in the OR. The endorsement from such respected organizations means a lot in the healthcare market,” Malinskiy said.

Mark Froimson, MD, Chair of the Board of Managers of Lazurite, said, “Lazurite is dedicated to creating better outcomes for all participants in the healthcare system – patients, surgeons, staff and others – through transformational innovation. We uncover practice inefficiencies and partner with doctors to develop innovative, human-centered tools to address these unmet needs.”

The ArthroFree fully wireless minimally invasive camera system is just such an invention. It seamlessly integrates into existing operating room workflows, empowering surgeons to focus on their patients and procedures, not their tools. The device is designed to be drop-in compatible with existing systems to reduce friction of implementation. It is expected to drive value for both hospitals and outpatient surgical facilities with efficiency gains, reduced sterilization requirements through eliminating cords and cables, and significant reduction of risks of OR burns and fires with its proprietary Meridiem light engine.

The ArthroFree™ wireless arthroscopic camera system has not yet received FDA clearance and is not currently approved for human use. It is not intended for commercial distribution; orders cannot be accepted at this time. The company plans to submit its 510(k) premarket notification in late 2021 and expects to receive FDA approval to launch the product in the first half of 2022.


About The Center for Health Affairs:
Incorporated in 1916 as the nation’s first regional hospital association, The Center aims to enhance the effectiveness of the healthcare community and the health of the communities it serves by providing expertise, resources and solutions to address the needs of the region’s healthcare providers. Through its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing and The Essentials Group, The Center amplifies the work incubated in the region to reach more than 19,000 member locations nationwide across the healthcare continuum, providing supply chain savings and business solutions to improve efficiencies and outcomes.

With a rich history as the nation’s first regional hospital association, The Center for Health Affairs serves as the collective voice and leading advocate for 36 hospitals across nine counties in Northeast Ohio. Through its business affiliates, CHAMPS Group Purchasing (GPO) and The Essentials Group, The Center provides a broad level of professional services to its members. CHAMPS GPO leverages the purchasing power of 19,000+ member locations across the United States by aggregating purchasing volume to negotiate discounts with manufacturers and distributors they use every day. The Essentials Group is designed to further elevate the value to the collective membership base of The Center and CHAMPS GPO by serving as an incubator for new concepts and forging partnerships which bring forward solutions to improve efficiency, productivity and outcomes.


About Lazurite:
Lazurite (formerly Indago) is a pre-revenue medical device startup company backed by private capital. The company has raised approximately $18 million to date from institutional investors, high-net worth individuals, and more than 50 physician champions. Founded in Cleveland in 2015, Lazurite has developed novel technology that will enable it to create the operating room of the future. The company’s product pipeline features the modular ArthroFree™ wireless camera system, which is expected to be the first FDA approved fully wireless minimally invasive camera system platform designed for the operating room; ORFree™, a prototype portable, self-contained, fully wireless, minimally invasive surgical camera system; and others based on the company’s novel and patented Meridiem™ light engine technology.