With COVID-19 shutting down clinical meetings and closing operating room doors to sales reps, medical device manufacturers are searching for new ways to support surgeons and physicians using their devices.
Level Ex, maker of a video game system, this week shared how it will help bridge this device divide, rolling out its Virtual Technique Guides, a surgical training platform that brings the qualities of multi-player gaming to the hospitals, ORs, and ambulatory surgery centers.
“ In 2019, we saw the next opportunity to transcend the limitations of smartphone hardware,” Sam Glassenberg, founder and CEO of Level Ex, stated in a release. “We began making substantial investments in cloud-gaming technology to enable more realistic simulation by leveraging compute resources in the cloud. When COVID-19 hit, this investment proved more important than we could ever have imagined. We had the capability to recreate that critical training dynamic between the surgeon and their sales rep seen in the physical OR.”
The company has spent the past year bringing in technology and creative talent from the video game industry including Chief Technology Officer Andy Glaiser, who previously led gaming teams at Amazon and Microsoft, and well as Studio Creative Director Jason VandenBerghe, who oversaw creative teams at gaming companies Ubisoft, Activision and Electronic Arts.
In a release, Level Ex says it collaborated with “top 10 medical device companies” to create and roll out the virtual surgical training program which the company says can accurately portray fluids and tissues to capture advanced surgical scenarios.
Level Ex’s Virtual Technique Guides connects sales representatives with surgeons over any distance. Surgeons and sales reps can access the virtual training room on any mobile device or desktop browser by clicking a web link or scanning a QR code. No app or software installation is required, according to the company.
In addition to the gaming platform, sales reps are able to talk and see physicians. The teleconference system is compatible with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, WebEx, GoToMeeting, Google Hangouts, and others.
The company reportedly has raised at least $20 million in funding, according to this article in Forbes.
