Polyphonic™ AI Fund for Surgery QuickFire Challenge

Registration Deadline:

Event Contact:

  • Swapneeta Date

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To help accelerate the use of AI in surgery, Johnson & Johnson MedTech has launched the Polyphonic™ AI Fund for Surgery QuickFire Challenge. Researchers and innovators in the Surgical Data Science field worldwide are invited to submit ideas for AI technologies that have the potential to improve surgical decision-making, strengthen data management & governance processes, and drive surgical efficiency across the connected operating room (OR).

Selected applicant(s) will have the opportunity to receive grant funding up to $100,000 and mentorship from experts across Johnson & Johnson.* Awardees may also be eligible to receive computing tools and technologies to help advance their innovations, including access to: GPUs and related software for accelerated computing, cloud platform and application services, Machine Learning (ML) and AI modeling toolkits and other Software Development Kits (SDKs).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and awardees will be announced quarterly through the end of 2026.

What we are looking for:

Innovators around the world are invited to submit ideas for AI technologies with the potential to enhance surgical care and improve patient outcomes across the following categories:

  • Surgical decision support: Perioperative AI that augments delivery of care throughout the procedure, reduces cognitive load and has the potential to serve as a surgeon co-pilot.
  • Data management & governance processes: Efforts pursuing breakthroughs in data infrastructure, privacy & consent management, labeling frameworks, and regulatory research.
  • Surgical efficiency: AI that boosts coordination across care teams, amplifies care team proficiency and improves patient management all towards enabling seamless delivery of perioperative care.

Specific surgical areas of interest include: Soft tissue surgery including but not limited to colorectal, bariatric, thoracic, urology, gynecology and general surgery. 

Criteria:

Potential solutions will be evaluated by a panel of reviewers based on the following criteria:

  • Clinical relevance and impact
  • Patient safety and ethical considerations
  • Feasibility and implementation
  • Innovation and scalability
  • Team expertise and collaboration
  • Additional considerations related to regulatory compliance, cost effectiveness and patient-centered design

Awards:

Selected applicant(s) will have the opportunity to receive grant funding up to $100,000 and mentorship from experts across Johnson & Johnson.* Awardees may also be eligible to receive computing tools and technologies to help advance their innovations, including access to: GPUs and related software for accelerated computing, cloud platform and application services, Machine Learning (ML) and AI modeling toolkits and other Software Development Kits (SDKs).

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, and awardees will be announced quarterly through the end of 2026.

* Subject to terms and conditions of applicable QuickFire Challenge and execution of an award agreement

Please note: Faculty and researchers interested in applying for these opportunities based on technologies developed or disclosed at Vanderbilt must submit their proposals through the CTTC.