VivaTech 2026, the global technology innovation trade show, brought together the leading players in digital health in Paris. Among the key themes of this year’s event was the topic of the operating room, and the IHU Strasbourg participated in the international roundtable discussion titled “Data-Driven Surgery: Transforming the Patient Journey.”
Dr. Alain Garcia, a surgeon at the University Hospitals and the IHU in Strasbourg, illustrated the innovation approach for the operating room of the future by presenting the IMARA and MONIT-OR1 projects. He shared a clear vision with startups and industry players in the sector: to build a more connected, data-driven, and inherently patient-centered surgical experience. Beyond the promises of technology, his presentation highlighted a major challenge: the need to structure and contextualize clinical data to best guide surgical decisions in real time.
MONIT-OR1: Connecting the Operating Room to Better Guide the Surgeon
The IHU Strasbourg is conducting the MONIT-OR1 clinical study, which focuses on the multimodal collection—directly in the operating room—of all data generated during minimally invasive surgical procedures.
It is intended for adult patients undergoing laparoscopic or robot-assisted surgery for a wide range of procedures, ranging from common benign conditions (cholecystectomies, appendectomies, hernias) to complex oncological, bariatric, and hepatopancreatic surgeries (colectomies, gastrectomies, sleeve gastrectomies, hepatectomies, or pancreatectomies).
The goal of this research is to advance the development of intelligent real-time surgical assistance systems based on the comprehensive analysis of digital data streams from the operating room. Ultimately, this system will also enable the automatic generation of augmented surgical reports, enriched with video clips extracted autonomously.
IMARA: Lightweight robots to assist operating room paramedical teams.
IMARA aims to design a robotic platform that combines an autonomous mobile robot—to transport instruments from storage areas to the operating room—with an intelligent robotic arm capable of learning and replicating basic nursing tasks for the preparation and presentation of sterile instruments.
The goal is clear: to relieve healthcare workers of time-consuming and repetitive tasks so they can refocus on their core mission—patient care and safety—while streamlining operating room logistics.
A Collective and Regional Initiative
The success of this technology transfer into daily clinical practice relies on strong regional synergy. Driven by an initiative supported by the Grand Est Region and extending to the greater Upper Rhine region, the IHU Strasbourg can draw on a robust network that includes BioValley France and the Strasbourg-based Nextmed campus dedicated to medical technologies.
Learn more about the “MONIT-OR1” clinical trial: Voir les études cliniques en cours
Discover the IMARA project: Imitation Machine for Robotic Assistance (IMARA)
