The Department of Health – Abu Dhabi (DoH) has announced a landmark collaboration with Johnson & Johnson to establish an emirate-wide intelligent surgical network, marking a first-of-its-kind initiative globally. The move reinforces Abu Dhabi’s ambition to lead the next generation of AI-enabled healthcare transformation while enhancing surgical precision, patient outcomes, and clinical decision-making across the emirate.
The initiative will leverage Johnson & Johnson’s Polyphonic™ open digital ecosystem alongside existing technology collaborations with Amazon Web Services (AWS), NVIDIA, and Core42. Built on Abu Dhabi’s sovereign intelligent health infrastructure, the network is designed to scale the responsible use of artificial intelligence across operating rooms while accelerating research and innovation in surgical care.
The intelligent surgical network will connect operating rooms across major healthcare providers, including Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, PureHealth, Mediclinic Middle East, and NMC Healthcare. Through advanced analytics and AI-powered clinical insights, surgical teams will gain enhanced decision-support capabilities at the point of care.
The connected ecosystem aims to improve surgical precision, operational efficiency, clinician training, and consistency of care, while enabling continuous learning and quality improvement across healthcare institutions.
H.E. Dr. Noura Khamis Al Ghaithi, Undersecretary of the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi, emphasized the strategic significance of the initiative, stating that Abu Dhabi has developed one of the world’s most advanced intelligent healthcare systems capable of scaling AI innovation across the healthcare continuum.
“Through our connected surgical network and collaboration with Johnson & Johnson, we are strengthening surgical care, enabling smarter clinical decisions, and ensuring every procedure can help make the next safer and more precise,” she said. “Abu Dhabi is not piloting AI in healthcare; we are operationalizing it across our system to deliver measurable impact for our community and beyond.”
The initiative introduces a unified governance framework that brings together hospitals, government entities, academic institutions, research organizations, and technology leaders. Under this framework, surgical insights generated before, during, and after procedures will be securely curated and analyzed to support the development and validation of next-generation surgical AI technologies.
According to DoH, the ecosystem’s continuous-learning model is expected to accelerate innovation cycles while supporting the safe and responsible deployment of emerging surgical tools and technologies.
Hani Abouhalka, Company Group Chair, Surgery, MedTech at Johnson & Johnson, described the collaboration as a significant milestone in advancing AI-driven surgical innovation globally.
“This groundbreaking collaboration with the Department of Health – Abu Dhabi demonstrates a shared ambition to accelerate the next generation of AI solutions for surgery and drive innovation to meaningfully support surgeons and improve patient care globally,” he said.
For patients, the intelligent surgical network has the potential to improve procedural accuracy, deliver more consistent standards of care, and enhance the overall surgical experience. Clinicians are expected to benefit from stronger decision-support systems, smarter surgical tools, and expanded opportunities for continuous professional learning.
The initiative aligns with Abu Dhabi’s broader healthcare transformation strategy focused on precision medicine, AI-enabled care, advanced therapeutics, and clinical research. By combining agile regulation, advanced digital infrastructure, and a growing life sciences ecosystem, Abu Dhabi continues to position itself as a global hub for healthcare innovation and real-world implementation of emerging medical technologies.
