Technology

Academic Orthopaedic Consortium Launches POST™, the First National Digital Platform Connecting MedTech, Pharma, and Academic Orthopaedic Departments

Published

2 months ago

August 4, 2026

New platform accelerates collaboration in technology evaluation, research, education, and innovation

CARY, N.C., Aug. 4, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC), the nation’s largest academic orthopaedic community representing 5,000 members, 200 university-based academic orthopaedic departments, and 100 health systems and private practices, today announced the national launch of POST™, the first national digital platform created specifically to connect MedTech and pharmaceutical companies with academic orthopaedic departments.

Developed over three years of collaboration between nationally recognized academic orthopaedic leaders and industry executives, POST represents a significant new layer of infrastructure for academic-industry collaboration. The platform was created to address two of healthcare innovation’s greatest challenges: efficiently connecting companies developing new technologies with the academic medical centers best positioned to evaluate, validate, educate, and responsibly introduce those innovations into clinical practice, while also advancing best practices that help reduce unnecessary delays in technology evaluation and adoption.

Powered by intelligent matching technology, POST enables organizations to create comprehensive profiles and instantly connect with highly relevant collaborators based on clinical expertise, research interests, educational priorities, innovation initiatives, and technology evaluation capabilities—dramatically reducing the time required to identify the right academic or industry partner. By strengthening collaboration between academic medicine and industry, POST also helps create earlier access to emerging technologies, expands opportunities for research and publication, enhances resident and fellow education, and supports the responsible acceleration of innovation into patient care.

The launch follows one of the largest national assessments examining collaboration between academic orthopaedic departments and the medical technology industry. Through surveys and strategic discussions led by the AOC MedTech Advisory Council, academic leaders identified significant barriers slowing innovation. Technology evaluation processes averaged more than 270 days, only 13% of institutions reported evaluation timelines under 90 days, and only 12%believed their current processes efficiently minimized delays. More than 90% identified purchasing and administrative processes as the primary barriers to technology adoption and called for national best practices to improve collaboration.

“POST represents a fundamental shift in how academic medicine and industry discover one another and work together,” said Michael R. Gagnon, MBA, Founder and CEO of the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium. “For decades, companies have struggled to identify the right academic partners, while academic departments have lacked an efficient, standardized way to engage industry. POST changes that by creating the nation’s first digital platform where organizations can quickly identify one another, build trusted relationships, and accelerate innovation with the shared goal of improving patient care.”

POST also serves as the digital foundation for the newly established AOC Technology Evaluation Network, a national collaborative of academic and industry leaders focused on technology evaluation, innovation, and best practices. Forty-six leading academic orthopaedic departments have already identified Technology Evaluation Leaders who, together with leaders from AOC’s participating industry partners, will help advance best practices, establish more efficient evaluation pathways, and strengthen collaboration across academic medicine and industry. The goal is to help reduce unnecessary delays in technology evaluation while increasing opportunities for research, education, publication, and responsible innovation.

The platform was shaped through the work of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council and the leadership of academic and industry experts committed to improving collaboration throughout orthopaedics. Founding industry collaborators helping shape POST include Arthrex, DePuy Synthes, Medacta, MY01, Smith+Nephew, Stryker, and Think Surgical, with additional organizations continuing to join the platform.

“Academic medicine and industry ultimately have a shared goal to improve patient care through responsible innovation,” said Joshua J. Jacobs, MD, Co-Chair of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council. “POST provides a national framework that enables academic institutions and industry to collaborate more effectively, share best practices, strengthen research partnerships, and accelerate the responsible evaluation and adoption of new technologies.”

“Identifying the right academic collaborators and navigating highly variable institutional processes has long been a challenge for the MedTech industry,” said Stuart Simpson, Co-Chair of the AOC MedTech Advisory Council. “POST creates a trusted national gateway that brings together industry and academic medicine in a way that is more transparent, efficient, and scalable than ever before.”

The Academic Orthopaedic Consortium is now inviting academic orthopaedic departments, MedTech companies, and pharmaceutical organizations to establish organizational profiles on POST and participate in this growing national platform for collaboration, technology evaluation, research, education, and innovation.

To learn more or establish an organizational profile, visit POSTMedTech.com.

About the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium

Founded in 2005, the Academic Orthopaedic Consortium (AOC) is the nation’s largest academic orthopaedic community, representing leading university-based academic orthopaedic departments, health systems, private practices, orthopaedic leaders, researchers, faculty, and administrative executives across the country. Through education, leadership development, research, innovation, and strategic collaboration, the AOC works to strengthen academic orthopaedics and improve musculoskeletal patient care.

POST™: POSTMedTech.com

Academic Orthopaedic Consortium: AOC

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SOURCE Academic Orthopaedic Consortium

Technology

Guidepoint Relocates Shanghai Office to Strengthen Regional Presence

Published

31 minutes ago

September 21, 2026

SHANGHAI, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Guidepoint, a global pioneer in access to expert insight, today announced the relocation of its Shanghai office to the Bund Center on East Yan’an Road.

Building on more than a decade of sustained growth in China, the relocation positions Guidepoint in the heart of Shanghai’s business district, bringing the firm closer to the clients and partners it serves while providing a modern, collaborative workspace for its growing team.

“Research today has evolved beyond standalone expert calls to more connected, AI-enabled workflows,” said Michael Wang, Guidepoint’s Director and Head of China. “The new Shanghai office brings together capabilities across research, product innovation, compliance, and operations, reinforcing Guidepoint’s commitment to delivering source-backed insight through rigorous standards, transparency, and integrity.”

“Shanghai remains one of the world’s most influential centers for business and finance, connecting decision-makers across industries and markets,” said Chris Bonsi, Head of APAC. “This relocation reinforces our long-term commitment to the region and strengthens our ability to serve clients and attract top talent.”

As demand for expert-led, source-backed insight continues to grow, Guidepoint is focused on expanding its research capabilities by combining expert knowledge, proprietary content, and technology-enabled workflows to help clients move from uncertainty to conviction with greater speed and confidence.

About Guidepoint
Guidepoint provides real-time access to expert insights, combining human expertise with AI-powered research tools to deliver knowledge at scale. Backed by a global network of more than 2M+ subject-matter experts, Guidepoint equips institutional investors, consulting firms, and corporations with the context they need across companies, markets, and trends. Through live, asynchronous, and agentic workflows, Guidepoint embeds expert knowledge directly into decision-making, turning answers into action when timing matters most.

Technology

Reap Launches First Ever Managed Fraud and Risk Service for Card Programs

Published

32 minutes ago

September 21, 2026

Reap Sentry configures and manages fraud controls for clients’ card programs, eliminating the need for additional monitoring tools or in-house fraud specialists.

HONG KONG, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Reap, a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure, today announced the launch of Reap Sentry, a managed card fraud and risk service. Through Sentry, Reap manages a client’s end-to-end transaction risk management – from configuring fraud rules and screening authorisations in real time to investigating alerts, processing chargebacks, and reporting confirmed fraud to Visa. Clients do not need to build or license additional fraud-monitoring tools, or hire a dedicated fraud team.

Payment card fraud losses worldwide totalled USD 33.41 billion in 2024 (The Nilson Report, January 2026), tied to global card volume of USD 51.920 trillion (The Nilson Report, January 2026). Every card in circulation is a live payment instrument, with authorisation decisions made in milliseconds. Fraud must be stopped at the point of authorisation, not afterwards, as the knock-on costs of fraud can often exceed the value of the fraud itself. Meanwhile, evolving attack patterns make fraud management an ongoing operational function.

Built on the technology within Reap’s issuing portfolio, Sentry combines the fraud policy, tooling, and day-to-day operations required to manage transaction risk effectively. Having issued millions of cards over eight years of card issuance, Reap brings to Sentry controls informed by fraud patterns observed across its entire issuing portfolio. These controls are tailored to each client’s business profile, including its cardholder segments, geographic footprint, and stated risk appetite.

Sentry conducts ongoing screening and declines suspected fraud in real time at authorisation; triages and investigates alerts; and continuously updates controls as new threats emerge, including BIN attacks and merchant breaches. The service also processes and represents chargebacks submitted by clients, reports confirmed fraud, and provides program performance reporting on an agreed cadence. Controls are reviewed and refined as each program evolves, without requiring client intervention. Clients can integrate with Sentry through a single Reap API.

Reap protects the authorisation layer it operates and observes, while clients retain responsibility for the cardholder relationship and key first-party fraud entry points, including onboarding, identity verification and account access.

“Most companies launching a card programme have to build a fraud function from day one. Doing so requires specialist tooling, dedicated expertise and several months of preparation before they can safely issue a single card, by which point the threat landscape may already have shifted. That is rarely how a team wants its first months to go.” said Harris Leow, Head of Product, Reap. “Sentry takes on that entire card fraud function: our controls, data and specialists, tailored to each card programme.”

Sentry is available to new Reap card issuing clients and to existing clients at contract renewal, on Reap’s own API.

To find out more about Sentry, visit our website: https://reap.global/products/sentry-fraud-risk-management

About Reap
Reap is a global financial technology company that enables financial connectivity and access for businesses worldwide through stablecoin-enabled infrastructure. We transform the financial landscape through more efficient money movement by merging traditional finance with digital assets, bridging disparate economies and connecting key financial markets.

Reap was an early leader in Asia to incorporate stablecoins into our solutions. In 2025, Reap processed billions in stablecoin-funded transaction flows. From stablecoin-enabled corporate cards to cross-border payments, we streamline financial operations and empower companies to scale with our integrated business accounts and embedded finance solutions.

Founded and headquartered in Hong Kong, Reap employs 300 people worldwide. More information about Reap can be found at reap.global.

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SOURCE Reap

Technology

Envision Energy Powers Morocco’s First Large-Scale Battery Storage System at OCP’s Benguerir Mining Site

Published

32 minutes ago

September 21, 2026

BENGUERIR, Morocco, Sept. 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Envision Energy, a global leader in green technology, today announced the successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage system at OCP Green Energy’s Benguerir mining site. The 25 MW / 125 MWh system was supplied and commissioned by Envision Energy under a contract signed in late 2025, and is now undergoing testing before entering commercial operation.

Envision Energy provided the full storage system and led the commissioning work, integrating the BESS with the site’s solar generation, grid conditions and industrial load profile. The system is designed to shift surplus solar power from daytime generation to peak consumption hours, reducing the site’s peak-hour electricity bill by approximately 25%.

With five hours of storage capacity, the BESS functions as an industrial energy management tool rather than a short-duration grid asset. It is supported by USD 20 million from the Clean Technology Fund, managed through the African Development Bank Group, and is designed for a 25-year lifetime with daily charge-discharge cycles. For OCP, the value lies not in battery capacity, but in the system’s ability to reduce peak-hour costs over a 25-year operating life.

“The successful energisation of Morocco’s first large-scale battery storage project demonstrates the reliability, flexibility and cost-effectiveness of integrated renewable-plus-storage solutions in industrial applications,” said John Lee, General Manager of Envision Energy for the Middle East and Africa. “Envision is proud to be part of this landmark project and to contribute green technology to Morocco’s energy transition.”

As highlighted in OCP Group’s official press release announcing the milestone, Omar Kadir, CEO of OCP Green Energy, said: Storage is the natural extension of our energy strategy. It allows us to reconcile the variable output of renewable energy with the continuous needs of our industrial platforms, while strengthening the reliability of our energy supply. Beyond OCP Group’s own needs, this technology paves the way for a more harmonious integration of renewable energy into the national power system. By bringing greater flexibility and resilience to the grid, it will help accelerate the deployment of renewable capacity.”

The project marks a significant milestone for battery storage and industrial decarbonisation in Morocco. It supports the country’s target of achieving 52% of installed electricity capacity from renewable sources by 2030 and serves as a benchmark for industrial decarbonisation across Africa.

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