Three Companies Using VR to Change the Future of Healthcare

From pacemakers to Fitbits, digital technology plays a vital role in keeping people healthy. Now, some innovative companies are going beyond devices and gadgets by applying VR to expand the capabilities of the medical field. The same GPU technology used by game developers to animate lifelike VR versions of Mount Everest and Mars is being deployed to improve surgical training, more accurately diagnose disease and offer patients new avenues to pain relief. Here are three companies paving the way for VR in medicine using NVIDIA GPUs.

As medical procedures become more complex, it gets increasingly challenging to train surgeons sufficiently. According to Justin Barad, orthopedic surgeon and founder of Boston-based Osso VR, surgeons graduate from training programs without ever performing elaborate implant procedures. Osso VR is addressing this challenge with a low-cost VR simulation that teaches surgeons how to use new or unfamiliar devices.

The simulation uses NVIDIA GPUs and advanced hand-based interactions to create scenarios as close to real life as possible. One scene presents surgical trays so users can examine individual tools and prepare for the procedure. It then takes the user through the steps of performing procedures in a virtual operating room, such as hammering a titanium rod into a virtual tibia. With Osso VR, surgeons have a safe environment in which to gain familiarity with tools, learn new skills and experience surgical procedures — without putting patients at risk...