The University of Maryland, Baltimore and Axis Research & Technologies have announced a groundbreaking joint venture to establish the nation’s first AI-powered Smart Surgical Performance Center. The new Smart Surgical Performance Center, powered by the University of Maryland, Baltimore and Axis, will set a new national standard for innovation in surgical training, performance, and patient care.

This 36,000 sq. ft. facility will unite the University of Maryland’s two centuries of leadership in medical education with Axis’s national expertise in surgical training and innovation to create a novel ecosystem for education, performance optimization, research, and discovery. The Smart Surgical Performance Center will be powered by OMNIMED SmartOR™, an AI-enabled platform that integrates real-time data and performance analytics into surgical environments.

The Smart Surgical Performance Center represents a new model for the future of surgical education and innovation. Purpose-built to blend the strengths of academic medicine with industry collaboration, the facility will integrate cadaveric and model training, immersive simulation suites, and OMNIMED SmartOR™, an AI-powered telemetry platform that captures and analyzes data across classroom, simulation, and operating-room environments. 

This combination creates a next-generation ecosystem where education, research, and technology converge, giving students, clinicians, and engineers unparalleled insights and opportunities to advance the practice of surgery and patient care.

Building on a Legacy of Innovation

The University of Maryland School of Medicine was chartered in 1807. Its first building, Davidge Hall, was built in 1812 and remains the oldest continuously operating medical education facility in the Western Hemisphere. Established by pioneering physicians who advanced anatomical understanding as foundational to patient care at a time when this idea was controversial, Davidge Hall helped establish the early standards of medical education in America and around the world. 

The standard continues today as nearly all medical schools include human anatomy courses in the first year. This same foundational spirit unites and guides the University of Maryland, Baltimore and its partnership with Axis, marking the next evolution in anatomical education and surgical performance. 

“Through the lens of advancing clinical patient care, University of Maryland Faculty Physicians have led medical innovation through novel discoveries and state-of-the-art education,” said William F. Regine, MD, FACR, FACRO, Isadore & Fannie Schneider Foxman Chair of Radiation Oncology and President of UM Faculty Physicians. “Our partnerships with cutting-edge biotech leaders such as Axis, and the incorporation of AI, will only accelerate the pace of our contributions into the next century of medicine.”

Adding to that, Graeme F. Woodworth, MD, Professor and Chair of Neurosurgery at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, emphasized the transformative nature of the collaboration:

“This partnership represents the convergence of surgical expertise, advanced computation, and intelligent systems that will shape the future of surgical education and innovation. Together, we’re creating a data-driven environment that allows us to measure, refine, and elevate surgical performance—benefiting both clinicians and the patients they serve.”

Axis’s National Network and Industry Partners

Axis Research & Technologies currently operates advanced training and research facilities in Irvine, CA; Columbia (Baltimore), MD; Nashville, TN; and Houston, TX. Each location is designed to accommodate complex surgical education, cadaveric research, device development, and live broadcast collaboration. 

Axis works with many of the world’s leading medical device companies and health systems, making the new Smart Surgical Performance Center a destination for innovators who want to collaborate, invest, or establish a presence within this groundbreaking environment. The center represents the next evolution of Axis’s national network, creating the first fully integrated, AI-powered training ecosystem in partnership with a premier academic institution.

“Axis was built to provide platforms where surgeons, educators, and innovators can come together to push healthcare forward,” said Jill Goodwin, Chief Executive Officer of Axis Research & Technologies. “Partnering with the University of Maryland allows us to expand that vision into a connected, data-rich training ecosystem that will shape the future of surgery.”

Founded in 1807, the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) is the state’s premier public health, law, and human services university and home to six professional schools and the Graduate School. With more than 7,000 students and 3,100 faculty, UMB drives innovation across medicine, law, dentistry, nursing, pharmacy, and social work—advancing education, research, clinical care, and public service throughout Maryland and around the world. Learn more at www.umaryland.edu.