Virtual reality in medicine is certainly a hot trend at the moment, with the global market for VR in healthcare expected to reach 3.8 billion by 2020. Dr. Justin Barad, orthopedic surgeon and Founder and CEO of startup Osso VR, thinks that virtual reality offers an approach to surgical training that the antiquated method of apprenticeship simply cannot. He summarizes the impact of immersive technology in medicine: “Virtual Reality is a unique technology that has a wide variety of disruptive medical applications. The qualities that makes VR so special are: its immersive quality and sense of presence, neuromodulatory and therapeutic potential, and ability for effective “teleportation.” Early studies have shown incredible potential for this technology, and the future looks bright.”
Brandon Birckhead, MD, a radiation oncologist who focuses his research on immersive technology, firmly believes in the power of investing in VR in healthcare technology. He says,
“If it was not for the investment in technology in the early 2000s, there would not be over 18 different uses of medical VR in clinical trials today. More investments in medical VR technology will lead to a similar surge in progress within augmented reality and the mainstream adoption of VR by healthcare systems of tomorrow.”
Here are the US top 7 startups using Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality to improve healthcare:
1. Syncthink
Syncthink, located in Palo Alto, California raised a $3,500,000 Series A on January 18, 2018. The company, founded in 2009 by Dr. Jam Ghajar, has developed a fully-integrated VR device used for eye-tracking called EYE-SYNC. It is head-mounted and uses its technology to determine ocular-motor impairments that can arise because of concussions or sleep-deprivation.
2. Meridiun
Meridiun raised $2,500,000 in seed funding on December 15, 2017. The startup located in Irvine, California has created a mobile application called AR+. The mobile application runs on smartphone and tablet, and allows clinicians to deploy simulated medical content through audio, video, 3D imagery, and training. As the user looks through their mobile camera, the screen displays augmented reality such that key information appears on their screen.
By Leah D’Sa | MEDTECH BOSTON
Image Credit: Osso VR
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