Traditional ophthalmology teaching methods and the way Life Science brands, medical institutions, and students interact, typically include; classroom lectures, instructional videos, medical meetings, operating room (OR) observations, and tissue-based wet lab training, which is considered the gold standard for medical training. Low-cost immersive simulations now offer solutions to continue remote, socially distant learning, while accelerating skills transfers, thanks to the ability to collect and objectively measure performance data previously unattainable.

An established player in surgical education, FundamentalVR simulations are delivered through its Fundamental Surgery platform that allows users to experience the same sights, sounds, and feelings they would in a real OR. Combining HapticVR technology with high fidelity graphics, proven accredited educational strategies, and analytics of previously unmeasurable data points, Fundamental Surgery allows users to acquire both the technical knowledge and the muscle memory essential in developing surgical skills.

Every user interaction from the surgical gaze, respect for tissue, and movement efficiency is measured and recorded to provide a level of analysis and measurement. In addition to increasing knowledge transfer, this detailed, unique data insight enables life science businesses to drive consistency and compliance for their medical devices and procedures.

The expert knowledge has been used to create tailored solutions for Life Sciences companies and a cataract surgical simulator for the global eye care NGO Orbis International. The highly regarded organization works to end avoidable blindness by training eye care teams in low and middle-income countries so they can save and restore vision in their communities. Orbis is deploying FundamentalVR’s educational simulation for cataract surgery in select residency training programs and prospective digital training hubs to evaluate the impact on residents’ surgical skills and obtain user feedback to inform further software developments.

Simulations, featuring the interactions with human tissue essential for learning, can be created to cover various ophthalmology procedures. These interactions include incisions, trocar placement, scleral tissue manipulation, lens manipulation, lens implant insertion, posterior chamber manipulations, bimanual manipulation of the eyeball, and subretinal injections.

“Industry analysts now estimate adoption curves for immersive technologies have accelerated by around three years as COVID-19 permanently changes traditional teaching methods,” said Richard Vincent, co-founder and CEO of FundamentalVR. “With the addition of ophthalmology capacities, we are meeting this increased demand with proven technology that allows medical device companies and medical educators to more effectively train the next generation of surgeons and bringing innovative new procedures and equipment to market permanently.”

The Fundamental Surgery platform offers a more scalable, affordable, and flexible training solution to existing VR solutions that require dedicated labs, specialized equipment and large investment. Already in use by medical device manufacturers and teaching centers of excellence across the globe, it is equipment agnostic able to work with a range of off-the-shelf equipment, such as Oculus Quest and HTC Focus Plus headsets, and can be used remotely by an unlimited number of simultaneous users.

The post FundamentalVR Launches Full Commercial Ophthalmology Capability appeared first on .

CPD is set by General Medical Council (GMC) as activity outside of postgraduate training that demonstrates surgeons are continuing to improve and practice their skills and performance. The Royal College of Surgeons of England accredits activities ranging from educational days and conferences that are in line with the GMC’s guidelines and the number of points each activity counts towards each trainee’s annual CPD points.

To maintain professional standards, surgeons must accrue 50 CPD points a year (250 over a 5 year revalidation cycle). With this accreditation, Fundamental Surgery’s simulation is confirmed as an activity that demonstrates sufficient educational value to contribute to the CPD for which 6 CPD points can be claimed.

Named as one of the best inventions of 2018 by Time magazine, the Fundamental Surgery platform was launched in August 2018. It combines virtual reality (VR) with cutting-edge haptics to create a scalable ‘flight simulator’ experience for trainee and qualified surgeons, allowing them to experience and navigate the same visuals, sounds and feelings they would during a real surgical procedure. What sets Fundamental Surgery apart from other solutions is that it is designed to be equipment agnostic, compatible with any laptop, VR headset or haptic device enabling it to be delivered at a fraction of the cost. Furthermore its remote data analytics and data dashboard covering surgical skills and knowledge provide invaluable insight into surgical capability and education progression.

While other simulations are limited to visual and audio interactions, Fundamental Surgery takes it to a new level with HapticVRTM, its proprietary technology that adds a real-time sense of touch. Surgical trainees can feel the movement and interaction of tissue, muscle and bone as they would in an actual procedure within a submillimeter of accuracy of resistance. Fundamental Surgery has a library of tools and tissue variants that mimic real life sensations that have been calibrated by a leading team of surgeons and KOLs.

“We are pleased Fundamental Surgery has been recognized by the Royal College of Surgeons of England as an educational platform that can help increase proficiency and help maintain and improve surgeon’s performance,” said Richard Vincent, CEO and Founder of FundamentalVR. “With Fundamental Surgery, we have developed a completely safe and realistic teaching environment for surgeons to learn and hone their skills combining virtual reality with tactile feedback that is so important for developing the muscle memory associated with different procedures.”

The platform currently supports a range of orthopedic procedures, including the Total Hip Replacement Posterior Approach (P-THR) simulation that received the CPD accreditation. The P-THR simulation supports users in maintaining and developing their understanding of relevant anatomy, pre-operative planning and post-operative patient care, as well as offering a haptically enabled simulation experience and intra-operative decision making.

Omar Sabri, Consultant Surgeon in Trauma & Orthopedics with a special interest in Pelvic reconstruction and Lower Limb arthroplastys and member of the FundamentalVR Global Medical Board said, “This is a huge step forward for VR surgical simulation and a validation of its role and propensity to add value to the surgical education system. As the first HapticVRTM simulation company to be accredited by the RCS of England for Total Hip Replacement (Posterior Approach), Fundamental Surgery is an incontrovertible leader in the field.”

The Fundamental Surgery platform is currently deployed in a number of different medical institutions. Most recently, leading London hospital, St George’s Hospital, deployed Fundamental Surgery within their simulation centre. This installation enables anytime access for medical trainees to use the education platform, to monitor progress and help individual users continue to grow their skill sets. Fundamental Surgery is also deployed at the Mayo Clinic and UCLA in the US, UCLH in the UK and Sana in Germany.

The post Fundamental Surgery becomes the First VR Surgical Training Simulation with Haptics to Gain CPD Accreditation appeared first on .

In the world’s first implementation of this joint venture, SOTI and Lenovo have teamed up together to work with the Starlight Children’s Foundation, an organisation dedicated to creating moments of joy and happiness for hospitalised children, to provide and manage VR devices for use in pediatric healthcare settings. “Starlight Xperience” runs on the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream, Google’s VR platform, and is a ground-breaking program designed to entertain, educate and inspire hospitalised kids across the US through stimulating immersive experiences that transport children from the hospital to any place in the world – or beyond – through the magic of virtual reality. Delivered to Starlight’s network of 800+ pediatric partners through its 360-degree program distribution platform, Starlight Xperience offers equipment and content geared toward entertainment and distraction for kids and will become the go-to AR/VR solution for pediatric care providers.

“We are very excited to work with Lenovo and the Starlight Project,” said Larry Klimczyk, vice president, Strategic Alliances at SOTI. “Our latest integration with the Lenovo Mirage Solo will bring countless innovations to the healthcare and education sectors.” SOTI was the first EMM solution to introduce management of smart glasses and smart watches. With the recent addition of Linux support, SOTI continues to be on the leading edge by enabling management of the world’s next generation of innovative devices.

“By partnering with SOTI, Lenovo can combine VR technology with SOTI solutions, ensuring our device is securely managed and successfully implemented. We look forward to expanding the use of VR and delighting both consumers and the enterprise alike,” said Gunjan Shah, general manager for North America Smart Devices at Lenovo.

Lenovo’s Mirage Solo is the world’s first stand-alone Daydream VR headset. Powered by Google’s WorldSense technology, which allows applications to track a user’s movement in space without the need of external sensors, Mirage Solo gives users the ability to explore endless possibilities. SOTI’s solution will bring advanced management capabilities to enhance Mirage Solo’s deployment in education and commercial space. You can learn more about the product by visiting www.lenovo.com/us/en/daydreamvr.

The post Partnership to Provide VR Devices for use in Paediatric Healthcare Settings appeared first on .

Oxford VR’s first product, an automated VR treatment for height phobia, was tested this year in a large randomised controlled trial, with the results gaining global acclaim when published in the Lancet Psychiatry. The treatment is now being used in selected NHS clinics.

The latest investment round will finance an ambitious strategy of product development, led by newly appointed CEO Barnaby Perks, formerly founding CEO of Ieso Digital Health. Although Oxford VR’s first treatment is for a phobia, it is the company’s intention to tackle the full range of psychological problems.

“Our focus is on developing clinically validated, cost-effective, user-centred treatments for clinical conditions with significant impact on patients, the health system and wider economy. That means targeting complex conditions such as psychosis and social anxiety,” states Barnaby Perks, CEO of Oxford VR. “I am delighted to lead a company that will transform mental health for millions by combining state-of-the-art immersive technology with world-class science from the University of Oxford. Professor Daniel Freeman’s research, combined with the advent of highly immersive consumer VR, means that Oxford VR can develop treatments that are faster and more effective than traditional treatments, significantly cheaper for health services to deploy, and – crucially – engaging and entertaining for users.”

Professor Daniel Freeman, Chief Clinical Officer of Oxford VR, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Oxford and Consultant Clinical Psychologist, Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust, led the Fear of Heights study published in Lancet Psychiatry. He states: “Instead of a real-life therapist, we used a computer-generated avatar to guide users through a cognitive treatment program for fear of heights. On average, people spent around two hours in VR over five treatment sessions. Everyone in the VR group saw their fear of heights diminish, with the average reduction being 68%. Half of the participants in the VR group had a reduction in fear of heights of over three quarters. These are amazing results: better, in fact, than could be expected with the best psychological intervention from a real-life therapist.”

David Norwood, Co-founder of Oxford Sciences Innovation (OSI), said: “Mental health problems are incredibly common, debilitating, and costly to society. Yet only a fraction of the people who need them have access to the treatments that work. We believe Oxford VR can make a huge contribution here, dramatically improving the lives of millions of people around the world. OSI is proud to have been involved from day one and we look forward to helping the company achieve long-term, lasting success.”

Theo Osborne, Co-founder and Head of Strategic Relationships at Force Over Mass, said: “We are really excited to be investing in a stellar team, innovating at the intersection of technology and mental health to solve a global problem.”

The current investment will enable Oxford VR to continue to build a high-calibre team, with a proven record of clinical and commercial success in digital health, and in cutting-edge immersive technologies. Alongside CEO Barnaby Perks and Chief Clinical Officer Daniel Freeman, the company has recruited Katie Bedborough as Chief Financial Officer, formerly Head of FP&A at the games company NaturalMotion; Christophe Faucherand as Chief Product Officer, formerly Head of Product of Ieso Digital Health; Dr Aitor Rovira as Head of VR Strategy from the University of Oxford; June Dent as Clinical Partnerships Director, formerly Clinical Lead for Oxfordshire IAPT Services; and Jason Freeman, a long-standing collaborator of Professor Freeman, as Chief Operating Officer. Oxford VR is headquartered in central Oxford.

Sam Gage, formerly of Sony PlayStation VR and the visualisation studio Third Floor, has also joined as Head of VR Development located at Oxford VR’s growing development office in London.

The post Oxford VR Raises £3.2m for Virtual Reality Psychological Therapies appeared first on .