Shore Medical Center has become the first hospital in New Jersey to offer the VELYS Active Robotic Assistance Platform for spinal procedures.

The technology, also known as VELYS Spine, combines robotic assistance and navigation to support surgical guidance during back and neck procedures. Shore Medical Center said the platform will help expand access to advanced spine care for patients in South Jersey.

This is relevant because spinal conditions are among the leading causes of chronic pain and disability worldwide. Patients with complex spine disease often require specialised surgical planning and precise instrument placement, particularly when minimally invasive techniques are used.

The VELYS platform uses VELYS Adaptive Tracking Technology to continuously adjust to patient movement and maintain alignment with the surgical plan. This is intended to support precision during spine surgery while allowing the surgeon to remain in control throughout the procedure.

For hospitals, robotic assistance can be relevant not only as a surgical tool but also as part of service-line development. By adopting the platform, Shore Medical Center is positioning itself to provide more advanced spine procedures within a community hospital setting, reducing the need for some patients to travel outside the region for specialised care.

The platform may support minimally invasive procedures, which can potentially reduce post-operative pain, shorten hospital stays and support faster recovery. These benefits will depend on patient selection, surgeon experience, procedural complexity and the hospital’s broader perioperative care model.

Shore Medical Center is a 196-bed independent nonprofit acute care community hospital in Somers Point, New Jersey. It is accredited by the Joint Commission and certified for disease-specific care in stroke, spine surgery, knee replacement and hip replacement. The hospital also has affiliations with Penn Medicine in cardiology, maternal-fetal medicine, neuroscience and pulmonology.