Surgical Theater, NordicNeuroLab launch VR diffusion tensor imaging

Surgical Theater said today it inked a partnership deal with NordicNeuroLab to integrate its nordicBrainEx diffusion tensor imaging into Surgical Theater’s Precision VR medical visualization platform.

With the newly integrated application, Mayfield Village, Ohio-based Surgical Theater’s platform will be able to process DTI and MRI perfusion scans to allow users of the Precision VR to perform evaluations of healthy brain structures, eloquent areas and targeted pathological tissues.

“Partnering with NordicNeuroLab was a natural next step for Surgical Theater. Our Precision VR platform and nordicBrainEx complement each other while bringing vital imaging capabilities and valuable datapoints immediately to neurosurgeons in the clinic and operating room. This immersive view has become essential for surgical planning and navigation as well as a powerful tool for patient engagement,” Surgical Theater co-found & CEO Moty Avisar said in prepared remarks.

Surgical Theater’s Precision VR platform allows neurosurgeons to “virtually walk inside the patient’s anatomy” using virtual reality headsets that allow users to be completely immersed in the virtually-created patient body. The company said that the platform allows operating physicians to perform virtual explorations to see inside the brain through craniotomy openings to explore the make-up and vital structure of the brain.

“Transitioning from a 2D image on a flat screen to the 360 degree, immersive Precision VR perspective is groundbreaking for surgeons. This powerful technology is changing how we prepare our patients and perform surgery by being able to ‘fly-through’ the actual surgical plan before making the incision. Seamlessly integrating nordicBrainEx’s DTI capabilities further enhances the visualization of critical anatomy and augments decision processes which can have a dramatic effect on increasing patient safety and improving overall outcomes,” Dr. Robert Louis of the Hoag Neurosciences Institute said in a press release.

Post processed DTI scans map white matter pathways in the brain between functional structures, Surgical Theater said, which can be helpful for planning surgical approaches to abnormalities while preserving critical brain structures.

The nordicBrainEx is compatible with data from all major MRI vendors, the companies said. Processed data and images can be incorporated into customized VR reconstructions, saved into reports to be shared with patients or exported to neuro-navigation systems.

“Like X-rays, CAT scans and MRI, DTI is quickly becoming an essential aspect in surgical planning. NordicBrainEx is designed to equip surgeons with seamless and immediate illustrations of functional tracts within the brain while minimizing the probability of error or variability in the quality of the results. With Surgical Theater, we found an ally in delivering integrated imaging solutions that were once out of reach to all but major research institutions,” NordicNeuroLab CEO Fredrik Isdal said in a prepared statement.

Last October, Surgical Theater pulled in $9 million in a Series A round, jumping ship from the Facebook owned Oculus Rift VR platform to HTC Corporations’ Vive.

HTC led the round of funding for Cleveland, Ohio-based Surgical Theater, joined by Shanghai Creation Investment Management.

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