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Artificial Intelligence Feels Like Magic - With Peter Verrillo

Meet Peter Verrillo, the CEO of Redefine Surgery. He joins your host, Henry Norton, in this episode to discuss the latest developments in orthopaedic AI. Throughout the conversation, Peter highlights how time-consuming knee surgery can be, and talks about the AI solutions that his company is creating to reduce the time spent in theatre. Peter also shares his journey as a founder of multiple different companies, touching on everything from funding and acquisitions to building prototypes in his basement. He also emphasises the benefits of working with device-manufacturing companies, as they will take his AI to market under a whitelabel. He states that this relationship is a key part of the medtech industry. Peter also touches on the importance of strong sales reps, suggesting that they should have training in both the software and robotics sides of this new technology in order to efficiently translate it to surgeons.

Artificial Intelligence Feels Like Magic - With Peter Verrillo

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Artificial Intelligence Feels Like Magic

Peter Verrillo, CEO of Redefine Surgery

Redefine Surgery: The AI Company Transforming Orthopaedics from the Inside Out

In this episode of The Crux of MedTech, we sat down with Peter, a serial entrepreneur in the orthopaedic space and the founder of Redefine Surgery. With three startups under his belt and a deep history at Stryker, Peter shared what it means to build meaningful AI for real-world surgery—and why the future of orthopaedics won’t look like the past.

From Basement Prototypes to Multi-Acquisitions

Peter’s journey began as an intern at Stryker, where he fell in love with the tangible, fast-paced nature of orthopaedic surgery. After launching a successful knee implant project, he cofounded his first startup—funded by a mixture of life savings, a mortgage, and a 401(k) withdrawal. The company was acquired just 15 months in. That deal kicked off a domino effect of acquisitions: from Nexa to Tornier to Wright Medical—and finally, back to Stryker.

But Peter wasn’t done. He built a preoperative planning software company next, enabling 3D-printed, patient-specific surgical instruments. Still, he saw a gap: “Once you get into the OR, the plan changes.”

The Birth of Redefine Surgery: AI Built for the OR

That insight seeded Redefine Surgery, a company focused on intraoperative intelligence. Unlike legacy robotics systems that rely on slow, hardware-heavy setups, Redefine uses a robotic vision system powered by AI to track instruments, bones, and surgeon hands—all in real time, with no need for bone screws or lengthy registration steps.

The result? A radical efficiency boost. Peter predicts that procedures which currently take 45 minutes can drop to just 10.

What Makes Redefine Different?

  • AI That Understands Surgery: Redefine isn’t just tracking. It’s learning from the best surgeons and building AI models based on their techniques.

  • Vision-Led Robotics: Their system automatically adjusts lighting and positioning while recognising instruments and anatomical structures—removing the need for traditional fiducial markers.

  • Partnership First: Rather than launching direct-to-market, Redefine partners with implant companies to embed their tech—like “Intel Inside” for orthopaedic surgery.

Commercialisation & the Future of Surgical Robotics

Peter sees the future of orthopaedics as smaller, smarter, and more accessible—particularly in ambulatory surgical centres (ASCs). By speeding up procedures and reducing cost and complexity, AI-powered tools like Redefine’s can enable broader adoption beyond large hospital systems.

He also touched on the evolving role of surgical reps, arguing they are still indispensable—but need better tools and better treatment, especially around issues like poor-quality disposable scrubs.

Raising Capital for Growth

Redefine is currently raising a seed round to support further deployment and partner integrations. Peter emphasised that this round will help unlock hundreds of thousands of procedures over the next five years, offering medical device companies new revenue streams and a faster route to market with intelligent navigation.

Lessons in Building for Impact

Peter’s biggest lessons? Timing matters. The wrong investor or partner can slow you down. But the right team—co-founders you trust, versatile hires, and early customers who believe in the mission—makes everything possible.

“We’re not just tracking. We’re teaching machines to understand what good surgery looks like—so that knowledge can be shared across the entire orthopaedic ecosystem.”

Final Thoughts

Redefine Surgery is more than a robotics or AI company. It’s a new model for how surgical intelligence is built, delivered, and scaled. If Peter’s vision comes true, the next generation of orthopaedic procedures will be faster, more precise, and more widely accessible—thanks to AI that truly understands what’s happening in the OR.

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