Claudette Lajam, M.D., an adult reconstructive surgeon at New York University Langone Orthopedics, has joined the Global Medical Panel of FundamentalVR, a haptically-enabled immersive training technology company based in London, UK.
FundamentalVR Hires Claudette Lajam, M.D.
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Dr. Lajam will be in charge of developing additional orthopedic training modules. Dr. Lajam, Chief Safety Officer and an Associate Professor of Orthopedics at NYU School of Medicine, trained at the Insall Scott Kelly Institute and Mayo Clinic.
Richard Vincent, founder and CEO of FundamentalVR said of Dr. Lajam: “We are extremely honored to have Dr. Lajam join our Global Medical Panel and bring her incomparable talent and expertise to our technology, helping us to develop even more orthopedic packages and allowing surgeons to hone their skills anywhere and at any time.”
According to the company, FundamentalSurgery is a “first-of-its-kind SaaS [service as a software] platform that combines virtual reality (VR) with cutting-edge haptics and leading educational practice to create a low-cost and scalable surgical education and rehearsal experience for trainee and qualified surgeons.”
“Fundamental Surgery creates an environment that allows users to experience and navigate the same visuals, sounds and feelings they would during a real surgical procedure. Simulations can be downloaded for as little as $9,000 a year for unlimited use, with surgical program managers able to access an online dashboard of all of their trainees’ performance.”
Dr. Lajam told OTW, “My experience from teaching orthopedic residents and fellows for the past 14 years has taught me the importance of ‘court sense’ when doing operations. Where one can learn the steps of a procedure from reading a book and watching others, doing the procedure gives the 360-degree experience, including the feel of each step.”
“There is a tremendous opportunity with virtual reality to allow trainees to learn with these tools, including haptics, to improve their learning curve when doing new procedures or perfecting others. I have seen so many changes in how we do our work in orthopedics, with new technologies and instruments. Having tools like VR at our disposal for teaching will be critical as our field continues to expand.”
“I am working with the Fundamental team to streamline the total knee and total hip simulations so that they reflect the procedure as accurately as possible. I am very enthusiastic about the potential of this technology for our field and the field of medicine in general.”
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This is a fascinating development. In my practice we've seen similar outcomes with the revised protocol. The key differentiator seems to be patient selection criteria. Has anyone else noticed the correlation with BMI thresholds?
Great point. I'd push back slightly on the conclusion, the sample size in the cited study is too small to draw population-level inferences. That said, the directional signal is compelling and worth a larger RCT.
We implemented a similar approach last year. Early results are promising but we're still gathering 12-month follow-up data. Happy to share our protocol if anyone is interested.
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