The concept smacks of that 1966 movie, Fantastic Voyage: Cleveland startup Surgical Theater has developed a virtual reality software system that allows surgeons to journey through a patient’s body to get acquainted with the surgical site in advance of a complicated operation.
“It’s like Honey, I Shrunk the Kids — that’s exactly what we’re doing,” CEO Moty Avisar said in a phone interview. “We’re shrinking the surgeon virtually, so he can walk into the brain and explore areas he could actually never be in otherwise.”
The team behind Surgical Theater developed its Surgical Navigation Advance Platform, or SNAP, using the same underlying software concepts as co-founder Alon Geri used in developing a flight simulator in Israel.
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The SNAP pulls together data from CT, MRI and functional MRI scans to create a personalized and navigable map of a problem area – for instance, the brain. It’s available for use inside and outside the operating room, and during surgery as well.
“We’re mapping the enemy, so the surgeon can do a walkthrough before the surgery,” Avisar said.
The idea is that if the surgeon can completely visualize the operation site, they can gauge how aggressive or gentle they ought to be in tackling a surgery. It’s a fairly quick process — about 20 minutes — but can improve a doctor’s understanding of the “valuable real estate” of a patient’s brain or spine before complex surgery.
The software is being tested at University of California, Los Angeles, New York University, Mayo Clinic, Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital, and Cleveland Clinic, Avisar said. The SNAP program is cleared by the FDA for spine, ear-nose-throat and cardiac use, he said. It’s got the FDA stamp of approval for both preoperative and intraoperative use — and is on the verge of receiving a CE mark.
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Surgical Theater was launched in 2010 with angel and private funding. It just closed its first institutional round of venture funding, but Avisar isn’t disclosing the amount.
In a few months, the startup will likely announce a partnership with a large medical device manufacturer that’s incorporating Surgical Theater’s technology into its product offerings. Indeed, Avisar says that it’ll help install the navigation devices at more than 3,500 sites.
