Private equity firm Waud Capital Partners (WCP) announced its acquisition of ProNerve, a provider of intraoperative neuromonitoring (IONM) services. ProNerve will serve as the platform investment in WCP’s effort to build an industry-leading IONM services company.

Intraoperative neuromonitoring involves the use of a variety of electro-physiological monitoring services during surgical procedures to allow for early warning and avoidance of injury to nervous system structures, thereby reducing healthcare costs and greatly improving clinical quality.

WCP said it has recruited Luke Johnson to serve as ProNerve’s chief executive officer. Johnson has more than 17 years of healthcare executive experience, including most recently serving as senior vice president of operations at United Surgical Partners International, a leader in the U.S. ambulatory surgery center and short-stay hospital industry.