FundamentalVR, developers of immersive VR surgical skills training and skills data analytics have unveiled further advancements on the Fundamental Surgery platform.
These advancements aim to provide a level of realism that produces a credible complement and alternative to traditional medical education methods. Leveraging full force feedback kinesthetic haptics, high-fidelity graphics and 3D spatial technology, the new soft tissue capabilities allow surgeons to manipulate and feel the texture of anatomy as if they were in the operating room.
The enhanced soft tissue capabilities are part of the company’s five-year technology and clinical journey that has seen its Haptic R&D team work closely with surgeons and educator experts from around the world, drawing from leading universities as well as spatial technology and medical specialists such as Dr. David Farley at the Mayo Clinic.
The impact of the advanced tissue capabilities are not just skin deep. Its development allows FundamentalVR to deliver enhanced solutions for current simulations in areas such as spine, orthopaedic and ophthalmology as well as new capabilities in soft tissue surgery, interventional and many more.
Richard Vincent, co-founder and CEO of FundamentalVR, said: “We are proud to offer industry leading technology proven to accelerate learning and transform traditional teaching practices into cost effective, safe methodologies. With the addition of advanced soft tissue sensation capabilities users are able to make independent decisions about approach and patient interaction and have full high-fidelity control, feeling and vision as they make that interaction. We have brought a new level of realism to medical education to an extent that the need for surgeons to practice in wet labs, on cadavers or patients could be eliminated within just a few years.”
FundamentalVR simulations are delivered through its Fundamental Surgery platform that allows users to experience the same sights, sounds, feelings and sensations they would in a real OR. It combines HapticVR technology and analytics of data points to advanced surgical skills allowing precision techniques to be acquired.
It is made possible by the company’s Haptic Intelligence Engine, that delivers full kinaesthetic force feedback haptics into a variety of handheld devices, ranging from base station held instruments to haptic gloves within a submillimetre of accuracy, all low cost and commercial off-the-shelf hardware. It changes the way immersive technology is used in medical education. Often, VR programs are primarily used to help acquire knowledge. Now, with the addition of soft tissue simulation combined with the most advanced haptics available, accelerated acquisition of skills is possible anywhere in the world. Building the muscle memory required for proficiency and essential for precise surgical skills transfer.
