Osso VR: Revolutionising Surgical Training
As VR technology develops, so too do the potential applications for various industries. One such sector where VR shows great promise is medicine and healthcare. Using VR hardware, it is possible to safely train surgeons, improve the skills of existing practitioners, and showcase new procedures.
Pioneering surgical training company, Osso VR has recently announced that the $66 million Series C financing round has closed. This funding means that the company will be able to widen its offering and recruit additional talent.
What do we know about Osso, and what’s on the cards for them? Let’s take a look at how VR is revolutionising surgical training.
What Does Osso VR Do?
San Francisco-based Osso VR is a virtual reality startup established in 2016 by Justin Barad MD, a Harvard and UCLA- trained orthopaedic surgeon. The primary role of the company is to deliver medical training.
The company uses existing Oculus headsets to deliver on-demand training to surgeons anywhere in the world. Much of this training is centred around familiarising surgeons with emerging technologies and new techniques.
The revolutionary Osso VR training platform is the first of its kind to include assessment in each of its modules. This helps measure the knowledge of the trainee, as well as their efficiency and accuracy. Through this gamified process, surgeons are able to completely master a task before ever putting it into practice in an operating theatre.
Back in the summer of 2021, the company raised $27 million in its Series B funding. This was led by GSR Ventures and included participation from Kaiser Permanente Ventures, SignalFire, and Anorak Ventures. The company also has the backing of OCA Ventures and Scrum Ventures.
During the recent COVID pandemic, the company demonstrated the true potential of VR training, with doctors and other medical professionals able to develop their skills and knowledge remotely. Osso VR offers a wide variety of training modules in fields such as endoscopy and orthopaedics.
Through the use of VR in medical education, patient outcomes can be improved, access to training can be democratised, and new innovations in technology can be implemented quicker.
In addition to securing the attention of investors, Osso VR has also struck up some valuable partnerships working with some of the biggest names in medical technologies and pharmaceuticals including Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Zimmer Biomet, and Smith & Nephew.
What Does the Series C Funding Mean?
Osso VR’s Series C funding was led by Oak HC/FT. This time, there was additional participation from GSR Ventures, Kaiser Permanente Ventures, and Tiger Global Management. The recent round of funding brings the total investment from outside sources up to $109 million.
Currently, the company employs 150 people, however, the recent investment will allow Osso VR to ensure its exponential growth over the coming year. All of the modules are developed in-house by a team of healthcare professionals as well as specialists in technology and gaming. Currently, the company employs the world’s largest team of medical illustrators. The additional funding will allow the company to increase its library of resources.
