Los Angeles-based Surgical Theater is making Precision VR, its virtual reality (VR) technology, available at no charge to any hospital in the world seeking to navigate inside the lungs of a patient with COVID-19.
Using patient-specific MRI and CT scans, Surgical Theater creates a 3D, 360-degree immersive VR environment that allows physicians to navigate inside the patient’s anatomy from every possible angle. This FDA-cleared and CE-marked technology can help medical teams better visualize the extent of each individual patient’s disease.
Precision VR for a COVID-19-positive patient will be able to highlight specifically identified lesions attributed to the virus and differentiate them from other types of lung damage or chronic pulmonary disease. This will be especially helpful in understanding the acute situation of patients with preexisting conditions who are among the most vulnerable. Volume-rendered, visual representation of COVID-19-specific lesions differentiated from preexisting conditions could effectively enhance the utility of chest CT images to better understand disease progression, resolution, and long-term effects. The volume measurements of affected tissue in lungs based on the patient’s own scans could greatly enhance treatment algorithms currently being developed for this pandemic.
“Surgical Theater recognizes the acute need for precision imaging tools as life-saving devices in the management of COVID-19 infections,” says Moty Avisar, cofounder and CEO of Surgical Theater. “This global crisis needs a global response. A lot of doctors are walking in the dark with this, so, we want to provide hospitals with tools to better understand and treat patients with COVID-19.”
Medical teams who would like to benefit from this technology at no cost for the fight in COVID-19 should send a detailed email to [email protected].
For more information, visit Surgical Theater.
