SYNDEO Medical
Creating a New Chapter in Custom Procedure Packs

For decades, standardized procedure packs—those big blue-wrapped surgical instrument packages—have been indispensable in streamlining diagnostic and interventional workflows. But with the healthcare landscape becoming more intricate and diverse by the day, the need for specialized devices and accessories has made standard packs less and less viable.

It has often sparked discussions around procuring individual surgical products versus standardized packs. Amid the dichotomy, a leading Belgian medical device designer and developer, SYNDEO Medical, ventures down a third path. Instead of completely doing away with highly customized procedure packs, it is refining and, in many ways, reinventing the approach.

“We understand how the one-vendor, one-order, one-delivery solution simplifies procurement. So, we looked at how we can bring more value to the landscape of varied surgical and interventional products,” says Justin J. Lampropoulos, founder and CEO of SYNDEO.

The result is SYNDEOPackTM, which combines the convenience of pre-assembled packs with the advantages of a tailored selection based on specific interventional and surgical procedural needs. Partnering with healthcare professionals, SYNDEO designs customized procedural solutions for various minimally invasive procedures, such as interventional cardiology, radiology, and oncology. The vision behind SYNDEOPack is set to redefine procedure pack content and logistical efficiency, promising a novel approach in a field where one size rarely fits all.

At the Intersection of Medical Innovation

Many medical device manufacturers don’t delve deep into understanding the therapeutic applications of the various products in their procedure packs, making them highly commoditized and somewhat undervalued. SYNDEO’s distinction lies in challenging this conventional view.

Its offerings are by no means limited to assembling and marketing the packs. From the initial conceptual design and development to final distribution, it is deeply involved in the complete lifecycle of medical devices and their use, reinforcing their position within the interventional and surgical device ecosystem.

Its attention to detail is apparent in some of the devices added to the pack. For instance, the transradial sheath introducer, along with its unique diagnostic guidewires, inflation devices, and other transradial compression devices, is not commonly found in commercially available procedure packs and needs to be procured separately introducing unneccesary cost and supply chain challenges.

Considering its use in many vascular procedures, the logistical complexity of placing on average 10-15 additional, individual purchase orders, managing 10- 15 unnecessary contracts, or dealing with 10-15 more sales representatives impacts patient care, hospital administration, and overall efficiency. By adding these items to custom procedure packs, SYNDEO delivers not only economic value but also procedural convenience and efficiency.

“When an interventional cardiologist or radiologists gets called in the middle of the night to respond to a critical and urgent acute situation, they don’t want to waste precious moments searching for the right tools. With our customized interventional procedure pack, everything needed is at hand, ready to be used,” says Lampropoulos.

With a presence in 30 countries, expertise across more than 20 specialties, and the design of over 100 interventional and surgical product configurations (and counting), this innovative thinking resonates across the healthcare landscape.

Xssential: A Ready-to-Deploy Solution for Unforeseen Demands

SYNDEO’s pursuit of adding convenience to procuring medical devices has led them to launch another product line, Xssential Rapid Delivery Procedure PacksTM. While these packs are categorized as semi-custom, their role extends further.

They act as a safety net to bridge backorder gaps and help hospitals offer seamless care amid unforeseen surges in patient volumes or what seems like a chronic lack of supply and backorders from current procedure pack producers. Formulated in partnership with interventionalists and nurses, the Xssential portfolio incorporates the items most commonly used in various procedures.

A lack of crucial supplies can delay or even force the cancelation of diagnostics, interventions surgeries and other essential treatments. On the operational side, healthcare staff deals with inventory shortages, investing valuable time in identifying alternative suppliers or adapting to unfamiliar product brands. Last-minute sourcing, especially during shortages, incurs higher costs, straining a hospital’s financial resources. The expansive Xssential offering in those cases, is a testament to SYNDEO’s understanding of these challenges and commitment to providing robust and rapid solutions in a demanding environment.

Bridging Cost Efficiency with Patient- Centric Customization

Another dimension of SYNDEO’s strategy is its profound impact on costs. Medical devices typically follow a pricing model influenced by market trends, competition, and customer demand. If demand rises, the price may soon follow.

We understand how the one-vendor, one-order, one-delivery solution simplifies procurement. So, we looked at how we can bring more value to the landscape of varied surgical and interventional products

SYNDEO applies a ‘cost-plus’ pricing model instead. This takes into account the cost of producing the device and adds a specific markup based on considerations like the convenience of the procedure pack and other enhancements. By evaluating the product’s real value and avoiding potential market-driven inflation, it offers clinically equivalent products at often a substantially lower price, sometimes as low as 70 percent of the cost of others.

This cost efficiency dovetails with its commitment to patient care. The COVID-19 pandemic underscored the vulnerability of supply chains, but SYNDEO’s approach addressed more than just logistics. Its pricing model enabled it to substantially reduce product prices even amid market turmoil, differentiating itself and offering an advantage to healthcare providers and patients.

Understanding the Needs of Interventional Procedures

The landscape of medical device manufacturing often faces a limitation in bringing innovative devices to market due to challenges arising from regulatory barriers to economic considerations. A typical example would be the development of inflation devices used in percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) and cardiac and peripheral interventional procedures, which has plateaued in recent years. SYNDEO’s SATURNTM Inflation Device illustrates the company’s willingness to reach back decades and revamp products that have been stagnant. It is not just bridging the gap in medical technology, but also integrating these modern devices into interventional procedure packs.

The company is always looking for innovative devices like radial sheaths, inflation devices, and hemostasis valves to be included in its packs. Clients highly welcome it. A common reaction is one of surprise, with clients admitting, “We didn’t know that was possible.”

Such detailed-oriented thinking stems from Lampropoulos’s roots, beginning with Merit Medical a leading global manufacturer of diagnostic and interventional devices. With more than a decade of executive leadership, he consistently observed stock unit reduction, standardization, and margin enhancement taking precedence over customization and individual customer needs as companies expanded, often frustrating healthcare providers. Recognizing a need for change, he made this insight into SYNDEO’s guiding principle—to provide what customers require, regardless of the scale—and delivering when they need it. Such dedication to enhancing care outcomes is what elevates SYNDEO above the rest.

Behind the Scenes of Crafting Custom Procedural Packs

SYNDEO’s client collaboration draws heavily on traditional salesmanship. Every engagement begins with its team members immersing themselves in clients’ medical environments. They closely examine the setup of the operating room, how procedures are usually set up and conducted, and end-of-day routines to prepare for the next day. This allows the team to gain first-hand insights into client challenges.

Building upon these insights, the team collaborates with healthcare professionals to identify and validate various items to be included in the procedure pack. Finally, the process enters the iterative improvement phase. After creating a product prototype, it is tested, modified, and retested based on continuous customer feedback, until a custom-designed solution is ready.

SYNDEO harnesses its robust operational horsepower, leveraging its global footprint and complete vertical integration, carefully selected with its strategic partners. The ability to control every step of the production process—from raw materials to finished goods—is a crucial advantage. Approximately eighty percent of the components in their procedure packs are manufactured and assembled in-house in collaboration with their strategic partners. This control over the production process enables the organization to maintain consistent quality and effectively manage supply chain speed.

SYNDEO’s Transformative Impact

While SYNDEO might be a new player in the market, its team is far from new to the field. Experience, backed by committed and seasoned leaders, contributes to its ability to challenge the status quo.
In one instance, its executive team, including Chief Commercial Officer, Andrew Cotton, conducted an on-site visit to a rural hospital in Southern Europe where SYNDEOPack had recently been deployed. The mission was twofold—to observe the product’s real-time impact and collect feedback directly from the users.

Located in a rural environment with limited infrastructure, the hospital faced unique logistical and supply chain challenges. SYNDEOPack implementation enabled the hospital to significantly enhance the efficiency and speed of its regularly conducted procedures. The solution also resolved issues related to supply chain, backorders, and coordination with multiple vendors, allowing the hospital to maintain a consistent pace of care, as affirmed by their head of interventional cardiology.

“This was a gratifying acknowledgment of our efforts, confirming that our products allow them to excel in their field. They can focus on what they do best while our solutions streamline procedures,” says Lampropoulos.

A Sustainable Stride Forward

With the rising global imperative for sustainability among healthcare providers, SYNDEO has positioned itself at the intersection of environmental responsibility and workflow efficiency.

By thoughtfully consolidating multiple frequently used devices, SYNDEOPacks offer surgical advantages and significantly reduce waste that would otherwise end up in landfills.

SYNDEO has also entered a strategic partnership with a leading company to introduce an extensive array of ecofriendly products. They aim to achieve a dual promise of championing biodegradability to ensure a reduced carbon footprint and upholding the highest standards of product integrity.

Driven by these endeavors, SYNDEO stands at the forefront of sustainable healthcare, marrying innovation in medical device delivery with environmental stewardship— demonstrating that operational adeptness and ecological consciousness can, indeed, go hand in hand.