Research In Orthopedic Computer Science

What Research In Orthopedic Computer Science does

Research In Orthopedic Computer Science (ROCS) is an interdisciplinary research group operating within Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, Switzerland, focused on improving the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases through computer technologies. Led since 2012 by Prof. Dr. Philipp Fürnstahl and formally constituted as a university professorship in February 2020, the group brings together approximately 11 staff plus PhD students, biomedical engineers, and a five-person 3D Surgical Planning Center. Its work spans 3D preoperative planning using statistical shape models and patient-specific instruments, augmented reality surgical navigation built on Microsoft HoloLens, acoustic sensing for intra-operative error prevention, and computer-vision / deep-learning methods for medical imaging and surgical workflow modeling. Notable proprietary assets include the SpineDepth open-access RGB-D dataset (pedicle screw placement on ten cadaveric lumbar spines, L1–L5) and three pending European patent applications covering reinforcement-learning surgery planning, implant customization, and registration instrument design.

ROCS does not operate as a commercial software vendor; it is funded by research grants from the Swiss National Science Foundation and the EU Horizon 2020 program, complemented by institutional support from Balgrist University Hospital. Its "customers" are internal clinical partners at Balgrist and affiliated training institutions reached through research projects such as PROFICIENCY (mixed-rereality surgical training) and IMMERSE (human-robot interaction for surgery), with outputs disseminated through open-access publications, public datasets, and academic teaching. The group's go-to-market is community-led: research impact is built via publications at venues such as MICCAI, CAOS, and EFORT; open datasets and code; supervision of bachelor, master, and PhD theses in partnership with ETH Zurich, University of Zurich, and TU Munich; and earned media in Swiss outlets including Der Bund, NZZ, and SRF.

The team is embedded in a tightly coupled ecosystem that includes the OR-X national research infrastructure for surgical translation, the ETH AI Center, and joint PhD supervision with senior faculty at ETH, TU Munich, and University of Twente. Distribution of outputs is effectively global via open access, but revenue recognition and customer relationships are concentrated within a single host institution and two public funding bodies, making ROCS best characterized as a translational research laboratory rather than a commercial enterprise.

Name

Research In Orthopedic Computer Science

Legal name

Universitätsklinik Balgrist

Website

https://rocs.balgrist.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ROCS is an interdisciplinary research group within Balgrist University Hospital in Zurich, developing AI-driven 3D surgical planning, augmented reality navigation, and acoustic sensing for orthopedic surgery, funded by Swiss and EU research grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Computer-Assisted Orthopedic Surgery Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (54171), Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Surgical & Medical Instruments & Apparatus (3841), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

AI Orchestration & Imaging Analytics Platforms (Model Management/Triage) (HLACALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Universal Viewers & Enterprise Imaging Access (Zero-footprint/Diagnostic) (HLACALAD), Imaging Informatics & Workflow (PACS/RIS/VNA) (HLAHABAI)

Keywords

• Computer-assisted surgery
• Surgical navigation systems
• Preoperative surgical planning
• Augmented reality healthcare
• Medical image analysis

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations

Revenue model

1. Research Grants: Funded through national and international research grants including Swiss National Science Foundation (SNF) projects and Horizon 2020 European research programs
2. Institutional Funding: Core funding from Balgrist University Hospital as a research laboratory within the university hospital system

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

ROCS is an interdisciplinary research team that develops computer-assisted technologies for orthopedic surgery, including patient-specific 3D preoperative planning, augmented reality surgical navigation, statistical shape modeling, and AI-based intraoperative sensing. It also produces open-access research datasets (e.g., SpineDepth) and designs patient-specific surgical instruments, operating from Balgrist University Hospital with research infrastructure access via the OR-X facility.

Product overview

ROCS (Research in Orthopedic Computer Science) is a research-focused organization at Balgrist University Hospital offering a combination of datasets, surgical planning services, and navigation technologies. The core offerings include the SpineDepth Dataset for training and validation, 3D preoperative planning services with patient-specific instruments, and augmented reality surgical navigation systems. Research projects like PROFICIENCY and IMMERSE focus on Mixed Reality Digital Twin technology for surgical training.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SpineDepth Dataset Public, open-access dataset providing labelled RGB-D video recordings of pedicle screw placement with ground truth 3D pose and shape data for spine levels L1-L5, designed for training and benchmarking computer vision and surgical AI algorithms by academic and industry researchers worldwide.
• 3D Preoperative Planning Service Patient-specific 3D surgical planning for orthopedic interventions including osteotomies, fracture reconstruction, and corrective surgeries, using CT-based statistical shape models and 3D modeling; delivered as a contracted clinical service to orthopedic surgeons at Balgrist and partner institutions.
• Patient-Specific Instruments (PSI) Custom-designed surgical guides and drill templates for accurate execution of preoperatively planned osteotomies and fracture fixations, including forearm, distal radius, and clavicle procedures, produced on a case-by-case basis for clinical partners.
• Augmented Reality Surgical Navigation AR-based intraoperative navigation systems using Microsoft HoloLens and head-mounted displays for pedicle screw placement, rod bending, and osteotomy guidance, providing real-time 3D visualization during orthopedic surgery; delivered as research-prototype collaboration with clinical partners.

Quantifiable outcome

• First in-man augmented reality pedicle screw navigation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability9 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• ETH ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary academic partner for computer science, robotics, and machine learning research. Multiple joint PhD supervision arrangements with Prof. Fürnstahl, Prof. Pollefeys, Prof. Krause, Prof. Grewe, and Prof. Tang. ETH AI Center Fellow program for PhD candidates.
• University of ZurichcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic host institution for PhD candidates and clinical research collaboration with Balgrist University Hospital.
• OR-X (Swiss National Research Infrastructure for Surgical Translation)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational research infrastructure for surgical translation and innovation. ROCS researchers lead research units at OR-X, providing access to cadaveric labs, prototyping facilities, and industry collaboration.
• Technical University of Munich (TU Munich)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint PhD supervision with Prof. Nassir Navab. Research collaboration on augmented reality, computer vision, and medical deep learning.
• Balgrist University Hospital OrthopedicscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerClinical partner providing orthopedic surgery expertise, clinical data, and translation opportunities for research developments.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Osso VR: Osso VR is an emerging player in VR-based surgical training, especially for orthopedic and spine procedures. It is directly comparable to ROCS's PROFICIENCY and IMMERSE mixed-reality surgical training projects, representing the commercial manifestation of similar research goals.
• Medivis: Medivis is an emerging player building AR-based surgical visualization and navigation using holographic displays. It is closely comparable to ROCS's AR surgical-navigation research, applying similar computer-vision and 3D-reconstruction techniques for intraoperative guidance, and is one of the few commercial teams building on Microsoft HoloLens 2 in the OR.
• FundamentalVR: FundamentalVR offers a haptically-enabled VR surgical simulation platform focused on training and rehearsing procedures. It overlaps with ROCS's mixed-reality training research and shares the broader thesis of using immersive technology to scale surgical education.
• Proprio Vision: Proprio is an emerging player combining light-field imaging and AI for intraoperative surgical scene understanding and 3D reconstruction. It is highly comparable to ROCS's research areas in marker-less surgical tool/hand pose estimation, 3D reconstruction of anatomy, and multimodal surgical scene understanding.
• EchoPixel: EchoPixel provides interactive 3D medical visualization (HoloViewer) for surgical planning using holographic displays. It is closely comparable to ROCS's 3D preoperative planning research and AR visualization work, and represents the closest dedicated commercial competitor in true 3D holographic surgical planning.
• Surgical Theater: Surgical Theater provides VR/AR 3D surgical planning and patient-engagement visualization, monetizing the same kind of 3D medical-imaging and VR/AR rendering capabilities ROCS researches for planning and training. The company represents an emerging commercial analog to ROCS's PROFICIENCY and IMMERSE mixed-reality training projects.

Broad incumbents

• Brainlab: Brainlab is a major incumbent in computer-assisted surgery, offering surgical navigation, planning, and AR visualization platforms across multiple surgical specialties. It is directly comparable to ROCS as a commercial counterpart that has packaged similar intraoperative navigation and 3D planning concepts into FDA/CE-cleared products and could commercialize ROCS-style research.
• Medtronic (Mazor / StealthStation): Medtronic acquired Mazor Robotics for spine surgical robotics and integrates planning and navigation with its StealthStation neurosurgical platform. ROCS's spine-focused AR navigation research (pedicle screw placement) competes directly with Mazor's commercial spine robotics roadmap and represents the most obvious commercial peer for ROCS's flagship application area.
• Stryker (Mako Surgical): Stryker's Mako robotic-arm assisted surgery platform is the dominant commercial orthopedic surgical-planning and navigation system. It is comparable to ROCS as the primary reference point for commercializing computer-assisted orthopedic surgery workflows at scale, particularly in knee and increasingly spine procedures that overlap with ROCS's research focus.
• Philips (IntelliSite / medical imaging): Philips is a broad incumbent offering enterprise medical imaging, visualization, and AI-driven diagnostic analytics. Its imaging informatics portfolio and AI orchestration capabilities are comparable to ROCS's medical-imaging AI work, and it represents a potential large acquirer or partner for ROCS-style AI imaging analytics platforms.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/research-in-orthopedic-computer-science

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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