Precision OS is an innovative orthopedic virtual reality in simulation software company headquartered in Vancouver, British Columbia. The healthcare simulation company combines orthopedic surgeons with high-end game developers who work together to enhance the expertise of surgical simulation training worldwide.
According to Precision OS, traditional training is not up to the challenge of educating today’s surgeons. The company says this is because today’s surgery residents are getting less hands-on experience than ever, especially due to COVID-19, and this lack of first-hand experience is affecting their confidence and autonomy.
The lack of access to high-quality surgical education is also affecting medical device companies, Precision OS says. The company explains that in an era of rapidly advancing technologies and procedures, training is often a rate-limiting factor.
Therefore, in 2017, Precision OS was founded to address these gaps in surgical training by combining proven educational principles with realistic, lifelike experiences through VR in simulation. The vision of Precision OS is to forever change the way Physicians acquire knowledge and skill, but at a fraction of the cost and time.
Medical institutions now use the Precision OS platform to train both residents and practicing surgeons. This VR training provides them with effective instruction, producing surgeons who are confident, capable and ready to perform procedures on their own.
According to Peter Coffaro, the vice president of sales and marketing at Precision OS, the company’s customers “spend more time practicing, complete more surgical procedures in a shorter period of time, and are more satisfied with their overall learning experience.”
Medical device companies also employ Precision OS VR technology to instruct practicing surgeons on implants and other devices they are bringing to market. The platforms can be used to train sales representatives to become experts on devices, instruments, and procedures so they, too, can be an indispensable resource to the surgeons they support.
Precision OS prides itself on having immense educational solutions and value, as the company is constantly building tools to improve patient outcomes while minimizing complications. Understanding the importance and overall impact of surgical performance on case volume and outcomes, the company strives to focus all platforms on allowing the surgeon to improve their skill set.
In addition, being able to perform virtual surgeries on simulated patients before the actual procedure helps lead to enhanced patient safety. To achieve these goals, PrecisionOS takes a comprehensive approach to the surgical process. This includes focusing on each learner’s surgical preparedness and education, and their knowledge of rehabilitation.
In terms of international outreach, Precision OS has partnered with SIGN International to extend the leading edge of fracture care to the developing world. SIGN is a not-for-profit organization that donates orthopedic education, implant systems and the required surgical instruments to surgeons in developing countries. This first-of-its-kind partnership will allow SIGN Fracture Care to launch efficiently any time, anywhere VR medical training across 53 countries.
Precision OS is also backed by the prestigious AO Foundation, a medically guided education, innovation, and research organization specializing in the surgical treatment of trauma and musculoskeletal disorders.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Precision OS has partnered with University of Connecticut trainees to extend the opportunity to remain connected to their clinical experience of operating while unable to receive on-site instruction. With the Precision OS platform, they are able to practice surgery simulation at their convenience, learn from their mistakes and continue to improve and enhance their technical skills, all while remaining at home.
Moving forward, the Precision OS training modules for shoulder, spine, hip and knee arthroplasty and knee arthroscopy are used by leading medical institutions or are nearing release. Precision OS is also pursuing the use of medical VR technology for preoperative planning and clinical simulation in case-specific surgery, for which the company will seek FDA 510K clearance. The technology is adaptable to all surgical modalities used in orthopedics including open surgery, arthroscopy, and robotic surgery.
Helping to spread the Precision OS mission and vision, the company’s platform has been presented at a variety of medical simulation conferences, exhibitions, and shows, such as those hosted by SimGHOSTS, INACSL, ASPiH, SESAM, and the International Meeting for Simulation in Healthcare (IMSH) from the Society for Simulation in Healthcare (SSiH).
The use of VR technology complements existing bioskills training, addresses the gaps created by fractionated exposure, and uniquely combines contextual learning and technical skills acquisition. VR technology can also help practicing surgeons maintain and upgrade their skills and expand the capabilities of their current practices.
About the Precision OS Virtual Reality in Simulation Platform
The Precision OS platform delivers a lifelike experience that recreates what surgeons face in a real operating room. The solutions include human anatomy, virtual anatomy, surgical instruments, medical devices (such as orthopedic implants), and the operating theater itself.
The realism of this platform extends to the freedom of movement and autonomous decisions that surgeons face in the actual operating room, as opposed to other scripted simulations that more closely guide the surgeon’s hand. This results in a new depth of understanding and technical skills acquired at a fraction of the cost and time of traditional training.
These realistic, lifelike experiences recreate what orthopedic surgeons face in the real-world OR. Proven educational principles speed the attainment of surgical mastery.
The high-fidelity simulation VR learning platform produced by Precision OS offers a deliberate practice design that encompasses tailored training modules. These modules are designed around structured purposeful practice and productive failure, and focus attention and training efforts where they are needed the most.
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The solution’s high level of psychological, sensory, and physical fidelity make users feel they are part of the virtual environment and are actually in a real-world OR. Matched with real-time educational performance data, the solution can deliver robust metrics and assessments to users that measure and monitor training progress.
Proving the company’s success, Precision OS achieved a major milestone in early 2020, demonstrating a 570% improved efficiency in learning using the company’s virtual reality in medicine training platform. This research has been published in The Journal of Bone and Joint Surgery, Inc. This acceptance by the surgical community reveals that the Precision OS study met the rigor and criteria for acceptance in this respected journal. The study participants were evaluated by the Canadian Orthopaedic Association and the Canadian Shoulder and Elbow Society (CSES)
In addition, this research has been accepted for podium presentation at several major surgical meetings in 2020, including that of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS), the Orthopedic Research Society (ORS) and the American College of Surgeons (ACS) Simulation Summit.
