Osso VR’s surgical training program claims to have reached over 1,000 surgeon users per month with its virtual reality (VR) surgeries, which aims to offer students the ability to learn in a safe, repeatable, and on-demand environment to reduce errors and enhance patient care. Virtual surgeries can be updated as advances in medicine occur, and surgeons can collaborate remotely between the eight medical device companies and more than 20 teaching hospitals, such as Brown University, University of Hawaii, and UCLA, that utilize the program.
“This technology can drastically change the lives of our patients, and it is critical that we maximize access to the platform,” said Justin Barad, MD, CEO and co-founder of Osso VR. “Osso VR augments the surgical team, giving them the proficiency and objective confidence that they can bring significant value to their patients using the highest value devices.”
Osso VR claims to use the latest in cutaneous haptics technology as the interface between the surgeons and the program, much like Plexus with their haptic feedback gloves. VR is also being used for other medical purposes as well, such as teaching the DaVinci surgical system in specialized medical procedures. The results found by Osso VR seem to echo those found by University of Maryland, that VR engages students more than passive media.
“Simulators are not tomorrow’s luxury,” said Dr. Barad in his talk at TEDMED 2017. “They are today’s necessity.”
