Virtual Reality Surgical Planning Solution From AVATAR Gets FDA Clearance

AVATAR Medical announced that its virtual reality (VR) surgical planning solution has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

AVATAR Medical helps surgeons better prepare their procedures through the use of virtual reality (VR) representations of their patients. These patient avatars are generated instantly from CT scan or MRI images with an underlying proprietary technology based on four years of research in human-data interaction and machine learning conducted at the Institut Pasteur and Institut Curie. They serve as valuable tools for pre-operative planning and can also be displayed during surgical procedures.

According to the company, more than 100 surgeons from 20 different hospitals and universities, including UMass, CUNY and Columbia University, have benefited from the solution. To date, it has been used for case studies, student education and patient engagement, leading to six medical publications.

“AVATAR Medical has the potential to revolutionize medical education but also to impact actual patient care. With real time image rendering and lossless representations we can now see pathology and anatomy in a way that has never been realized. This will greatly impact how we as surgeons prepare for our procedures,” says Elliott Goodman, MD, Director of Surgical Education, City University of New York School of Medicine.

“AVATAR Medical is a unique hardware agnostic XR software platform. With the ability to plan based on preoperative imaging and then evaluate as well as confirm based on intraoperative imaging, I now have an additional level of capability and confidence in my advanced percutaneous and endovascular interventions,” says Venkatesh Krishnasamy, MD, Interventional Radiology, Associate Professor of Radiology, Columbia University.

“After receiving tremendous positive feedback from surgeons over the past 3 years, the FDA’s clearance is a major milestone in getting our VR solution in their hands to care for their patients. We expect European medical device certification for next year,” says Xavier Wartelle, CEO of AVATAR Medical.