Virtual Reality Training Leader Partners With Surgeon Society

The American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons (ASES) is teaming up with Vancouver, British Columbia-based PrecisionOS, an award-winning virtual reality (VR) simulation platform, to integrate VR training for American shoulder and elbow fellows.

“Providing access to high quality and readily accessible hands-on surgical education is our number one priority at PrecisionOS,” said Dr. Danny Goel, an orthopedic surgeon and PrecisionOS CEO. “It is a privilege to partner with my colleagues at the ASES to advance virtual education while providing a platform for surgeons and learners to connect in the Virtual OR from anywhere in the world.”

This partnership establishes the ASES as the first society to scale up its investment in virtual reality surgical training.

“The ASES continues to lead educational pursuits for the advancement of care for patients with shoulder and elbow problems. The newly established collaboration with PrecisionOS to utilize virtual reality in the treatment of shoulder conditions is another step forward in our mission” said ASES President Mark Frankle, M.D.

One of the key challenges for any virtual reality training platform is to create the experience of elevated realism for the physicians using the system. OTW asked Dr. Goel how his firm has tackled that difficult objective. “Through extensive testing with surgeons, PrecisionOS has optimized the interactions with instruments and sharpened the visual fidelity in the OR.”

“Each of these enhance the authentic experience of the training modules to create an environment supporting improved learning outcomes. The ability for a surgeon to not only perform a procedure but to apply their technique in a flexible and measurable way allows them to improve their skill level and track their improvement through metrics.”

Probably the most interesting feature of the Precision OS system is the way it also facilitates multiple participants, much like any active operating room environment. “The addition of a Collaboration mode”, explained Dr. Goel, “allows multiple participants to connect in the same virtual OR from anywhere in the world. This increases the opportunity for mentoring and an improved overall learning experience.”

Modern surgery is an increasingly complex profession and Dr. Goel addressed that with OTW. “With the increasing complexity of both surgical equipment and techniques and the limited access to physical learning opportunities, surgeons are faced with a significant challenge to adopt new procedures and execute them with a high degree of proficiency from the very first patient.”

“PrecisionOS modules offer the perfect environment to learn and practice in context through repetition and skills improvement. The muscle memory and procedural understanding that is achieved through repeated use of the PrecisionOS modules increases confidence and, is evidence based, and allows the surgeon to focus on the patient.”